


one year

by ineedmygirl



Series: greek tragedy [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (and thigh riding), Alternate Universe, But Also Pining, Childhood Trauma, Daddy Issues, Established Relationship, Found Family, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, I promise, Light Angst, M/M, Mommy Issues, PJO AU, Sexual Content, THEYRE OF AGE NOW, for another ship, lots of mushy kissing, son of athena!tsukki, son of hades!kuroo, theyre demigods they have all the issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:21:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 66,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26685829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ineedmygirl/pseuds/ineedmygirl
Summary: They have one year to save the world from a war of the Gods - starting now.(sequel to 'greek tragedy')
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei, Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi
Series: greek tragedy [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1808944
Comments: 101
Kudos: 392





	1. fall

**Author's Note:**

> wow i hope u guys missed the haikyuu pjo universe as much as i did!!! im so excited to start another journey with my demigod boys and YOU :')
> 
> (if u haven't read [greek tragedy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23549527/chapters/56490640) yet, this story won't make much sense without it so i definitely recommend doing that first!)
> 
> pls enjoy <3
> 
>   
> [moodboard](https://twitter.com/oiiblondie/status/1310369637293592578?s=20)  
> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/oiiblondie)

  
  
  
“Tsukishima? Hey, Tsukishima? Are you awake?”

Tsukishima groans, shoving his face further into his pillow. He is, but only barely. The sunlight streaming into his cabin had originally woken him up, but after closing the blinds, the gentle rocking motions of the waves under the boat had quickly started to lull him right back to sleep. He figured he had another half an hour of sleep before he had to get up. Fifteen minutes, at least. Just fifteen more minutes of blissful peace and quiet before he’s thrown back into what has become his regularly scheduled chaos.

Beside him, Kuroo rolls over in his sleep, smacking his lips and throwing an arm across Tsukishima’s body. He smiles and pushes some of Kuroo’s hair off of his forehead. Maybe the only redeeming quality of waking up in the morning was that his boyfriend’s peacefully sleeping face was the first thing he got to see when he opened his eyes.

Kuroo has his own cabin on the ship, but he’s been sharing with Tsukishima since the first night. 

They’d gotten pretty used to sleeping next to each other over the summer, with Tsukishima using Sugawara’s invisibility cap to sneak into the Hades cabin nearly every night. It was harder to sleep without each other these days. On Tsukishima’s part, at least, he thinks it has a bit to do with the fact that there are more than a few Gods who would probably like to see their heads on a platter at this point, and he likes the reassurance of seeing Kuroo’s head firmly attached to his body when he wakes up from a bad dream.

“I am now,” Tsukishima calls back. He tries to keep his voice low, but has to raise it slightly to be heard through the door and he feels Kuroo start to stir awake beside him.

“Sorry,” Lev apologizes quickly from the hallway. “It’s just that, well, you told me to keep you updated on the status of the ship, and I figured that the ship included the crew, so I just thought you’d like to know that Sakusa threw Atsumu overboard.”

Kuroo huffs a laugh and his warm breath fans across Tsukishima’s cheek. It’s kind of sick and twisted how Tsukishima finds even his sour morning breath attractive.

“Again?” Kuroo asks, propping himself up on one arm and ducking down to press a good morning kiss to Tsukishima’s forehead.

Tsukishima absolutely does not melt at that. Not even a little bit.

“Oh, hey Kuroo!” Lev suddenly goes eerily silent. “Oh my Gods,” he says in a haunted voice, “are you guys -?”

“Sleeping, Lev. Just sleeping,” Tsukishima cuts him off flatly, smothering Kuroo’s stupid laughter with a hand over his face. “Is the water temperature below freezing today?”

“Um, no?” Lev answers.

“Did you throw Atsumu a life preserver yet?”

“Yep!”

Tsukishima rolls over, turning his back to the door and pulling the comforter up to his chin, letting his eyes close again.

“He’ll be fine for a few more hours.”

Kuroo chuckles and the bed dips as he climbs out of bed. “Just hold on a sec, Lev. I’m coming.” He reaches his arms high above his head and Tsukishima peeks one eye open to watch the muscles shift in his back and crack with an audible pop. He quickly closes it again when Kuroo turns around and grins at him, ruffling his hair fondly. “I’ll go convince Sakusa to pull Miya back up. You get a few more precious minutes of beauty sleep, okay?”

“Good luck with that,” Tsukishima snorts under his breath. Sakusa wasn’t unreasonable, but Atsumu probably deserved getting tossed overboard again, so it would take some bargaining to get him to bring the son of Hermes back on board. Tsukishima knew all too well. They’d only been at sea for a few weeks now, and he’s already had to do it thirteen times. “Thank you,” he adds in a quiet voice, burrowing further under the sheets.

Kuroo tugs a shirt over his head, mussing up his hair, and heads for the door.

“Don’t mention it. Also, it’s your turn next time.”

Tsukishima groans loudly, ignoring Kuroo’s laughter as he joins Lev, and their voices become distant and muffled as he closes the door behind him and they start to get further and further away. He flops onto his back and stares up at the beams of the wooden ceiling, too far into wakefulness to fall back asleep at this point.

It says a lot about where his life has gone that this morning isn’t anything out of the ordinary for him.

He lets himself bask in the silence of his empty cabin for a few minutes longer before dragging himself out of bed and starting the day. There isn’t much time to waste, after all. They only have one year.

On his way to the mess hall he hears heavy grunting coming from the cabin a few doors down from his.

“Good morning, Tsukishima!” Goshiki greets him as he walks past. He doesn’t even pause his daily ritual of pull ups, hanging from the doorframe by his fingertips. He’s barely broken a sweat by now, so he’s probably only done around fifty by now. Tsukishima was horrified when he first found out that Goshiki did two hundred of them every morning after waking up _and_ every night before bed.

Tsukishima raises a hand in a half-hearted wave. Just watching Goshiki makes him too tired for much more.

Back at Camp Half Blood, Tsukishima and Goshiki never interacted much, which is exactly what made it so surprising when the son of Ares was the first person to approach him about coming on this quest. (It wasn’t technically a quest, given the fact that there was no prophecy from the Oracle to guide it, but ‘suicidal world-saving mission’ was kind of a mouthful. At least, that’s what Kuroo told him.)

It had been the first day after summer ended, when all the goodbyes had been said and there were no more reasons to put saving the world off any longer. Tsukishima and Kuroo originally planned on choosing two people each to bring on the quest with them, but that plan was thrown entirely out the window before it even began.

“You guys are gonna need me if you want to save the world,” Goshiki boldly declared that day, chest puffed out and eyes practically sparking with flames of passion.

“Is that so?” Kuroo grinned while Tsukishima rolled his eyes and pretended to gag himself. 

Children of Ares. So pompous.

“With Tendou and Daichi gone, I’m one of the best fighters at camp now!” Goshiki pointed a proud thumb towards himself.

“What about Kageyama?” Tsukishima drawled, lips curling into a grin when Goshiki’s expression fell, mouth pursing into a scowl. He mostly said it to get that exact reaction out of the other boy, but in all honesty, he had been considering asking Kageyama to come along with them. He _was_ one of the best fighters left at camp, but Goshiki was right up there with him.

“Ooh, Kageyama is pretty good,” Kuroo agreed, nodding and tapping his chin very seriously, but Tsukishima could see the twinkle of mirthful amusement in his eye as he played along with Tsukishima’s teasing.

Gods, he really did love that man.

Goshiki’s hands balled into fists, and Tsukishima could have sworn he saw actual flickers of fire in his dark eyes.

“You can’t bring Kageyama! He’s already been on a quest!”

Tsukishima blinked, smile faltering.

“Goshiki, have you… Have you never been on a quest?

Face flushed red, but still scowling, Goshiki nodded tightly. “I’m the only kid out of my entire cabin that hasn’t been on a quest yet. And it isn’t fair, because I’m one of the strongest, and if - If I could just get a chance to prove myself to them and… And to my dad…”

“Ah,” Kuroo said knowingly. “There it is.”

“Please,” Goshiki said, stepping forward and grabbing Tsukishima by the shoulders, looking him dead in the eye. This close, he could now see that there _were_ actual embers smoldering in the son of Ares’ eyes. “Please, Tsukishima, I just need someone to give me a chance. Just one chance. I swear on the River Styx, I won’t let you down. I’ll help you stop this war, no matter what it takes.”

And Tsukishima, Gods help him, couldn’t help but be convinced by such an impassioned speech. When he looked into Goshiki’s eyes, he knew that he meant every word he said, down to his very bones. And at the end of the day, this quest wasn’t really about being the strongest or the best fighter - they were going up against literal Gods. They knew they weren’t the stronger ones.

This was about who wanted to win more.

Goshiki wanted to win more than anyone Tsukishima had ever met. 

He’d feel better if Kageyama stayed back and watched over camp with Hinata, anyways. Strangely enough, they worked better as a pair than they did separately.

“Fine.” Tsukishima grabbed one of Goshiki’s wrists firmly and removed it from his shoulder, cutting his celebration off before it could even begin. “But a word of advice? Don’t kill yourself trying to please the Gods. Our parents don’t really care about us that much.”

Goshiki’s jaw dropped, eyes widening in shock.

“Okay!” Kuroo said in an overly cheerful tone, throwing an arm around Tsukishima’s shoulders and grinning. “Well, now that that’s settled, welcome to the team, Goshiki, yada yada… What is he doing here?” Kuroo pointed to Lev, who had been standing just behind Goshiki with his hands clasped behind his back, rocking back and forth on his heels the entire time.

“Hey.” Lev waved.

“Oh, right.” Goshiki jerked a thumb in the son of Hermes’ direction. “You’re gonna need him, too.”

“I can’t _wait_ to hear this one,” Tsukishima scoffed under his breath. Kuroo squeezed his shoulder lightly to chastise him and Tsukishima elbowed him in retaliation.

“I know the Hephaestus cabin offered you their flying boat or whatever, but do you guys actually have any idea where you’re going?” Goshiki raised an eyebrow.

Tsukishima wasn’t sure how Goshiki knew about that. The existence of the _Argo II_ was one of the Hephaestus cabin’s best kept secrets. The flying ship had been used only once before, by seven demigods on a quest just like this one, and had been swatted out of the sky by Zeus and smashed to pieces. They’d been working on repairing it for years in some secret bunker out in the woods. Iwaizumi had taken Tsukishima there one day and offered the ship to him, saying, _“Tooru and I wish we could do more.”_

“We’re…still working out the details,” Kuroo admitted sheepishly.

“I can help with that!” Lev said excitedly.

“Hermes is the God of travelers,” Goshiki explained. “Lev is basically a walking GPS. He can get you anywhere you need to go at a moment’s notice. Either of you know how to navigate at sea? Or in the air, for that matter.”

Tsukishima felt his hackles raise at the implication of Goshiki’s words. He was smart enough to learn all of those things. He just needed to read a few books on the subject and he would practically be a pro at it.

“Watch it. We don’t really need either of you,” he growled, raising a finger and jabbing it in Goshiki’s face. The son of Ares didn’t even bat a lash and Kuroo tugged Tsukishima away, pulling him aside to confer privately while apologizing to the other two boys.

Tsukishima huffed and crossed his arms while Kuroo stood there looking thoughtful.

“I think we should bring Lev,” he said finally. “It’s not that I don’t think you can navigate us!” He quickly added when Tsukishima’s ire began to rise again. “It’s just that Lev can already do it, and it would save us a lot of time if you didn’t have to learn how to do it yourself. Plus, we’ll need you to stay more focused on the big picture while we’re out there. We can’t have you wasting your energy on little things, like whether to turn left or right at the next cloud, while you’re also trying to figure out how to save the world. It’s too much to put on your shoulders alone.”

It was an infuriatingly good point.

“He counts as one of your picks,” Tsukishima conceded, jabbing Kuroo in the chest with a finger. “He is _your_ responsibility, got that?”

It wasn’t that Tsukishima didn’t trust Lev or want him on the quest, it was just… Well, Lev could be a bit of a handful. Not on purpose like most of his troublemaking siblings, more like accidents seemed to follow him around like a bad penny.

To put it plainly, he was a total klutz.

Tsukishima had been skeptical about Kuroo’s decision to bring Lev all the way up to the day they left.

On the shore of Camp Half Blood, just as they were saying their goodbyes and getting ready to set off, Tsukishima watched as Yaku grabbed Lev by the front of his shirt and yanked him down to his level (which was quite a ways).

“Lev, you’re actually incredibly smart and capable when you aren’t being an idiot. _Don’t_ be an idiot,” the son of Hephaestus said, before kissing him firmly.

The look on Lev’s face after that - Well, Tsukishima wasn’t worried about him anymore.  
  
  


~*~

Kuroo must have been successful in his endeavors, because barely a minute after Tsukishima sat down at the long kitchen table with a book propped open on the table in front of him, Atsumu plops down into the seat across from him, blonde hair plastered to his forehead and clothes making a wet squelching sound as he sits. Tsukishima glances up over the top of his glasses and can’t help but smirk.

“You’re looking quite refreshed this morning.”

Atsumu drops his chin into his hand and flips Tsukishima off. “Stuff it, Kei.” He sighs forlornly. “We can’t all be in the honeymoon phase like you and the Prince of Darkness.”

_“We_ are not in the anything phase,” Sakusa says, suddenly appearing in the seat next to Tsukishima, barely sparing Atsumu a glance. _“You_ are in the suicidal phase, and you’re there by yourself.”

“Death by your exquisite beauty, Omi? I can’t imagine anything bett - _ack!”_ The water from one of the glasses left on the table suddenly splashes Atsumu in the face. 

Sakusa had barely lifted a finger.

The son of Poseidon was strong. Probably the strongest demigod Tsukishima knew, after Bokuto. That, coupled with the fact that they were going to spend the majority of this journey at sea made him Tsukishima’s obvious second choice to bring along on the _Argo II._

Sakusa was a part-timer, so when the last day of summer came around and he still hadn’t left, Tsukishima was hopeful that it was because he expected them to ask him join them. He hadn’t even looked surprised when Tsukishima and Kuroo showed up at the Poseidon cabin and agreed easily when they invited him.

They almost lost him, however, when Kuroo told them who his next choice was going to be.

“Guess that means its my turn again,” Kuroo said once Sakusa had agreed. He shot them both an apologetic look. “Don’t kill me for this, okay?”

Tsukishima narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Don’t kill you for what?”

“This person has a very…specific skillset. One that we’re gonna need, whether you like it or not. We aren’t just running in headfirst to battle every god we run into, we’re planning on trying to reason with them. To convince them not to fight for Thanatos.”

“Right,” Tsukishima said slowly. “So what kind of skillset do we need to handle that?”

Kuroo sighed, running a hand through his hair. “We can’t risk letting Thanatos’ followers tell us that they won’t fight in the war, only to turn around and go back on their word. It’s not like Gods haven’t lied to hundreds of demigods just like us in the past. We have to know that they’re telling us the truth, and if they’re not, we have to fight.”

Sakusa put the pieces together a half second before Tsukishima did.

“No,” he said immediately, eyes widening in horror. His reaction was what finally made things click into place in Tsukishima’s mind.

“Gods of Olympus, help us,” Tsukishima whispered. 

Because Kuroo was right, and there was no way to deny what they had to do next.

As the son of Hermes, one of the most mischievous and tricky Gods, the God of thieves and liars alike, Atsumu Miya was a human lie detector machine. Not only could he tell when someone else was lying to him, but he was also flawlessly believable at lying to _other_ people. They needed him, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, he _knew_ that they needed him.

“So,” Atsumu smirked infuriatingly at them from his position lounging on his bed with his arms crossed behind his head. “You guys finally came to your senses, I see.”

“Nope,” Tsukishima spun around on his heel. “I can’t do this.”

Miya Atsumu was incredibly bright and gifted, but he was also one of the most pompous and obnoxious people Tsukishima had ever had the displeasure of growing up with. Atsumu wasn’t at camp yet when Tsukishima arrived, but it was only two years later that the twins first showed up. Tsukishima met Osamu first, thought he was really cool and fun to hang out with, not too loud and not too annoying.

He sort of expected Atsumu to be a lot like his twin.

Then, he met the guy.

Kuroo managed to stop him from storming out of the cabin, and while Atsumu never lost the smug grin on his face, he did somber up when Kuroo started explaining the quest to him.

“I assume you’ve already asked Omi to come along on your little mission?” Was all he asked when they were finished.

Tsukishima sighed and mentally apologized to Sakusa.

“Yes.”

Atsumu grinned. “Then I’m in.”

He said it like it was an entirely self-serving decision, but Tsukishima knew better. He may not particularly enjoy being around Atsumu, but living at camp with him year round for the majority of their lives has allowed him to observe the son of Hermes from a distance, and if there was anything Tsukishima knew about him, aside from his abrasive personality, it was that he had a protective streak a mile deep. Especially when it came to his family.

And his siblings in the Hermes cabin? He would never let anyone, mortal or god, hurt them.

He’d never say as much out loud, but Tsukishima saw the way any kid who ever messed with one of his younger siblings ended up pranked within an inch of their lives the next day, or how he always happened to be just a few steps behind all of the newest campers during capture the flag, jumping out of the trees and tackling the opposing team to the ground before they could get a single hit in.

Miya Atsumu could be a real jerk, but he was a good guy. Deep down.

Like, _waaaaay_ deep down.

“Okay, grab a plate guys, breakfast is ready! Oh, Atsumu you’re dripping water all over the table.” Yamaguchi sighs as he walks in from the kitchen and plants a hand on his hip. There’s flour on his cheeks, almost completely masking his freckles, and his fingers are stained pink. “Sakusa, would you mind?”

Sakusa gives Atsumu one last withering glare. Then, with a wave of his hand, collects all of the water clinging to Atsumu’s body and clothes and sends it out of the room.

“Thank you,” Yamaguchi beams, setting a plate stacked high with pancakes on the table between them. They’re steaming and fresh and covered with strawberry slices on top and a gooey pink syrup dripping down the sides. At first, they switched off responsibilities around the ship, but it quickly became clear that Yamaguchi was the only one out of the seven of them that could make food that was edible. Plus, he actually enjoyed it.

“Strawberry,” Tsukishima grins up at Yamaguchi.

“Just like home.” Yamaguchi winks.

And he means it literally. He took some seeds from the strawberries in the fields back at camp before they left. There’s a little pot of dirt up on the deck that he grew into a little strawberry vine, so they always have fresh ones to eat.

Out of everyone Tsukishima had been hesitant to bring along, Yamaguchi was at the top of the list.

“Alright, that’s it then,” Tsukishima had said that day at camp after they left the Hermes cabin with Goshiki, Lev, Sakusa, and Atsumu all on board. It was what he and Kuroo had discussed, and while it hadn’t gone exactly according to plan, they had the number of crew members they wanted.

Or at least, that’s what Tsukishima had been led to believe.

“Actually,” Kuroo started, pulling Tsukishima to a stop and facing him. “There’s one more person.”

Tsukishima frowned. “But that’s six? We agreed on six, two picks each.”

“Actually, I was talking to Chiron and the original crew of the _Argo II_ was seven people! And seven is a lucky number, right? It worked for them, he said, with the whole world saving thing, so I think we should have seven people, too.”

Kuroo was rambling, and Kuroo didn’t often ramble, which was how Tsukishima knew he was nervous to tell him about whatever plan he’d been hiding up his sleeve.

“You already have a seventh person chosen.” It wasn’t a question. Tsukishima knew Kuroo too well for that. His boyfriend winced, looking guilty.

“He came to me first and asked if he could come along,” he explained quickly. “I said no, but he actually had some really good points, so I think you should hear him out before freaking out.”

Tsukishima threw his hands up in exasperation. _“Who?”_

The sunflowers were as tall as Tsukishima that day, when Kuroo led him deep into the fields. He almost didn’t even see Yamaguchi at first, hidden among their petals, but it didn’t matter. He knew deep down who the mysterious seventh person was the moment Kuroo turned those guilty eyes on him.

Yamaguchi straightened when he saw them, brushing the fresh soil from his knees and tilting the brim of his sunhat up and out of his eyes. Despite Kuroo’s warning to hear him out and not shut the idea down right away, Tsukishima heart screamed in that moment, _’NO!’_ No way in Hades would he ever agree to the idea of letting his sweet, peaceful best friend come along on such a dangerous quest.

Yamaguchi wasn’t a fighter. Yamaguchi was a pacifist and a gardener and a good listener and a face-full of freckles that shined like the constellations of all the greatest heroes in the night sky.

Yamaguchi wasn’t a fighter. He never wanted to be one as far as Tsukishima knew, so the first thing he said was, “Why?”

“Thanatos lives in the Underworld, right?” Yamaguchi asked, and Tsukishima felt his entire body go cold just at the mention of the God of Death’s name. He could still feel his icy fingers dragging down his spine sometimes, like a phantom touch. “Which means that you’re going to need someone to guide you through the Underworld to find him.”

“We have Lev now.”

Yamaguchi shook his head. “His sense of direction won’t work underground. And Kuroo himself said that he got lost down there for months when he was trying to find his dad! You told me that you’re going to face Thanatos last, which means you won’t have that long to find him. I’ll be able to read the soil. I can use the earth underground to find where he is.”

Tsukishima pursed his lips. “I wasn’t asking why we should bring you. I was asking why you _want_ to come.”

To his surprise, Yamaguchi’s face screwed up in anger. It was an expression he’d never seen on his best friend’s face, and certainly not one that had ever been directed at _him._

“Is it really that hard for you to imagine?” Yamaguchi snapped, sounding nothing like his usual, easy-going self. “That someone other than you would be willing to risk their lives to protect their home? Camp isn’t just your home, Tsukki. It’s mine, too. I’ve been here almost as many years as you have, and year-round, too. This place is just as much my home as it is yours, and I’ll do anything to keep it safe.”

Every instinct in Tsukishima’s body was still screaming at him to keep Yamaguchi as safe and as far from trouble as possible. It was bad enough that Kuroo was already putting himself in danger for him, asking the other person he cared about most in the world to do the same was… It was scary. It was almost too scary of an idea for Tsukishima to bear.

But Yamaguchi was right. Camp Half Blood wasn’t just his home, it belonged to all of them. And what right did Tsukishima have to tell Yamaguchi he couldn’t fight for it?

“So… You really wanna come along as our resident Dirt Whisperer?”

Yamaguchi’s face broke into a smile brighter than the sun, and Kuroo gave his hand a supportive squeeze. And Tsukishima knew in that moment that he would protect them both, no matter what.

And so, here they all were. The group of seven ragtag demigods that held the fate of the world in their hands.  
  
  


~*~

“Open up, Omi! Let me hand-feed you.”

“Those - Those are pancakes,” Tsukishima whispers, horrified. He watches with barely veiled disgust as Atsumu picks up a pancake with his bare hands and offers it to Sakusa, dangling it from his fingertips like someone trying to temp a dog with a piece of meat.

Sakusa actually physically jerks away from the table, looking at Atsumu’s sticky, strawberry syrup-covered fingers with extreme repulsion.

“Did you swallow too much saltwater this morning?” The son of Poseidon hisses. “There is no way in Hades I would ever - Put it down, you disgusting animal!”

It’s kind of interesting to see Sakusa lose his composure like this. Atsumu is the only person Tsukishima has ever seen get to him like this. Plus, Sakusa is a total germaphobe, so this is definitely pressing every single one of his buttons. Atsumu was exceptionally good at that. Pushing buttons.

“Aw, come on!” Atsumu pouts, holding the pancake a little closer and dripping syrup all over the table.

Sakusa glares at Atsumu with violent hurricanes in his dark eyes. Just as Tsukishima is sure he’s going to lunge across the table and strangle Atsumu, he takes a deep breath to control himself and he pushes himself away from the table stiffly, picking up his plate. “I think I’ll just eat in my room,” he announces bluntly, turning to leave before anyone could respond.

Atsumu sighs and drops the pancake back onto his plate, licking the syrup off his fingers noisily.

“Are you really going to keep subjecting us to this for an entire year?” Tsukishima drawls. Atsumu stabs an entire pancake with his fork and tears off a bite. _Animal._

“I have no idea what you mean,” he says through a mouthful of chewed up pancake. “That was Aphrodite-level romance, baby.”

“First of all, gross. Second of all,” Tsukishima gestures vaguely to the seat Sakusa had just been siting in. “Have you ever tried, I don’t know, talking to him like a normal human?”

“Hm, could you elaborate on that?”

Tsukishima huffs. “Have you ever tried actually having a conversation to him and listening to what he has to say instead of just grossly hitting on him all the time? You know, tried being his _friend?”_

It’s not that Tsukishima is particularly concerned about the state of Miya Atsumu’s love life, it’s just that he figures if Atsumu could stop being such an ass for thirty seconds, they might be able to get some peace around here. Tsukishima doesn’t know if Atsumu has a snowball’s chance in Hades with Sakusa, and he doesn’t particularly care, but maybe if Atsumu stopped giving Sakusa so many reasons to kill him, the son of Poseidon would stop trying and Tsukishima could get some sleep.

“I listen to him!” Atsumu sticks his fork into his stack of pancakes and sits back in his seat, crossing his arms behind his head and giving Tsukishima a smirk. “Just because you stuck Kuroo in the friend zone for like, twenty years, before getting your pretty little head out of your pretty little ass doesn’t mean that every relationship needs to start that way, you know.”

Tsukishima has changed his mind. He is now going to actively aide Sakusa in Atsumu’s murder.

“You’re a real dick, you know that?” He grits out. He’s so focused on burning a hole into Atsumu with his eyes, he doesn’t even notice Kuroo walking into the room, watching them with an eyebrow raised in amusement.

“Watch what you say about my boyfriend’s ass, Miya,” Kuroo warns, grabbing a fork and stealing a bite of food off of Tsukishima’s plate. Tsukishima glares at him and Kuroo just shrugs and smacks an apologetic and sticky kiss on his cheek before dropping into the seat next to him and draping an arm around his shoulders. 

Atsumu scoffs, kicking his feet up onto the table. “Don’t worry, he’s mean and all, but not really my type. Bit too speccy.” He puts a finger to the bridge of his nose between his eyes, mimicking someone pushing glasses up their face. 

“Fuck right off,” Tsukishima invites.

Atsumu dramatically grabs his chest. “Now don’t go trying to change my mind, my heart is already set on another.”

“Gods and monsters are about to be the least of your worries.”

“No homicide until after breakfast,” Kuroo teases, tugging on a piece of Tsukishima’s hair. Tsukishima bites his lip to stifle a gasp and glares at Kuroo out of the corner of his eye. Recently their late night kisses have started to evolve into something a little more…heated. Nothing too far, but Kuroo _has_ discovered Tsukishima’s weakness for having his hair pulled, and has been using that information for countless nefarious purposes ever since.

Tsukishima would be much more annoyed if he wasn’t also using it for very, _very_ good purposes.

“Oooh, pancakes!” Goshiki walks in, red-faced and sweaty with Lev following not far behind him.

As if on cue, Yamaguchi returns to the table with another plate stacked with pancakes, taking the seat next to Tsukishima and grabbing a few for himself. Goshiki grabs way more than his fair share, as usual, which usually ends up working out since Tsukishima eats less than his fair share and Goshiki apparently needs the extra calories to keep up with his ‘rigorous training schedule’. Atsumu and Lev engage in a fork-joust for the last pancake, and while they’re distracted, Yamaguchi sneakily slides it onto his own plate, humming innocently under his breath.

Tsukishima sighs, and mourns the loss of the peace and quiet of his bed. It feels like that was hours ago, even though it’s barely eight in the morning yet.

Saving the world is not nearly as glamorous as Tsukishima expected it to be.

At least there’s one thing he always enjoys about it…

“Hey,” Kuroo nudges his leg under the table when he notices Tsukishima hasn’t touched his food in a while. “Whatcha thinking about?”

_How glad I am that you’re here with me._

“I want to go back to bed.”

Kuroo laughs with his head tipped back and Tsukishima secretly admires the line of his neck and the cut of his jaw. It might be ridiculous to say, but Kuroo looks much older since they got back from their quest and the Underworld. Since he met his dad and finally got to say goodbye to his mom and sister.

Not _bad_ older, like he’d aged too quickly, just more…mature. Confident. Comfortable in his own skin. Now, when Tsukishima looks at Kuroo, that scared, feral little boy who fell out of the sky was nowhere to be found.

It’s unbearably attractive and horribly unfair.

Kuroo taps the tip of his nose with a syrupy finger. “Hang on, darling. We’ve still barely even begun.”  
  
  


~*~

“Lev,” Tsukishima rolls out a giant map across the table. “Can you show me exactly where we are right now?” Kuroo hooks a chin over his shoulder to see the map better and the rest of the crew all lean closer, almost subconsciously, watching with curiosity.

They had been doing nothing but sailing for the past few weeks, but it was time to start getting serious and prepare for their first encounter with one of Thanatos’ followers. 

It’s time to fight a God - again.

Tsukishima never thought that he’d fight even one God in his lifetime, let alone _multiple,_ but, well, he supposes his life never quite went the way he expected it to after he met Kuroo Tetsurou.

“Right here.” Lev points to a spot in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean somewhere off the coast of Canada without even batting a lash. Atsumu whistles low and impressed, slinging an arm around Lev’s shoulders.

“Oi, pretty cool trick _Levochka.”_ He says, ruffling his younger brother’s hair. Lev blushes at the nickname and tries to wiggle out of Atsumu’s grasp.

Tsukishima sighs. “Can you please continue harassing Lev later, I need him right now.” Atsumu relents, holding his hands in the air innocently. “Thank you. Now, Lev, how much time do we have left until we reach Iceland?”

“Hmmm, if we want to dock in Reykjavík? Two weeks, two days, seven hours, and fourteen minutes. Give or take.”

Tsukishima nods thoughtfully and sits back. “Then that’s how long we have to confront Morpheus.”

The entire mood of the group shifts into something more solemn than Tsukishima has seen it yet. Even Atsumu’s ever-present smirk dropped off of his face, replaced by a more serious expression that had no business being on the Son of Hermes.

They all knew this was coming, they had agreed long ago that this was the most efficient way to complete their quest before the year was over and war broke out. Chiron told Tsukishima before they left that the last he heard, Thetis had holed herself up somewhere in the Nordic Seas off the shores of Iceland. Something about being angry at the Gods over the death of Achilles and wanting to isolate herself from them. Surrounded by the frigid and unforgiving freezing waters - the choppy, unpredictable seas were a direct result of her own mood.

Sailing to Iceland on a huge Greek warship powered by wooden oars was going to take weeks, and they wouldn’t arrive until the seasons had already changed and winter was upon them. If they spent that entire time not doing anything, they would have wasted all of autumn.

That was the good news about Morpheus dwelling in the Dream Realm: They could get to it from anywhere in the world. All they had to do was close their eyes and fall asleep.

Goshiki half-raises his hand. “So do any of us actually know how the Dream Realm works, or how we’re even supposed to find Morpheus in it?”

“I had Kenma explain as much to me as he could before we left,” Tsukishima says. “There aren’t really any rules to it or any way to predict what’s going to happen in there, because it’s basically Morpheus’ playground to do with as he pleases. He couldn’t give me all the answers, but he did give me the most important one: Morpheus has a real body in there, a physical entity. One that we can kill.”

Morpheus was one of the oldest Gods in existence, the son of Hypnos, and he had a track record of siding again the Olympians. He took Kronos’ side in the Second Titan War, and the odds that they’d be able to sway his allegiance were slim to none. Of all the Gods they were up against, he was the one that Tsukishima was certain they’d have to send to Tartarus first and ask questions of later.

“Thanatos is Morpheus’ uncle,” Kuroo adds, as if he can read Tsukishima’s mind. “He’s the one who gave Morpheus his wings, and they’ve worked together for millennia to bring people visions of death. It would be a waste of time trying to reason with him. He won’t turn.”

“We can stay in the Dream Realm for as long as we’re asleep,” Tsukishima continues. “Which means that whoever we decide is going in needs to stay awake for as long as they can so they can have as much time in there as possible. Kenma couldn’t tell me how to find Morpheus, but he’s well known for being able to perfectly imitate any living thing. I say three of us go in and the rest stay back and watch the ship. I’ve got all the information from Kenma, so I’ll be one of them. Lev.” The son of Hermes perks up at his name. “I’ll need you to come, too. The only way we can leave the Dream Realm without our bodies having to wake up is by finding our real bodies. You’re the only one who won’t get lost in there.”

Lev gives him a crooked salute. “You can count on me!”

“Good plan, babe,” Kuroo nods. “I’ll go, too.”

Tsukishima feels his stomach drop, tilting his face to look away from Kuroo’s eyes.

“Actually… You can’t.”

“What?” Even though he can’t see Kuroo’s face, he can hear the shock and betrayal in his voice and it tears Tsukishima’s heart to shreds. He knows how Kuroo must feel, he can’t imagine if the roles were reversed and at the first sign of a battle he was told he couldn’t stay by Kuroo’s side when the whole point of this quest was to do it together.

“Ouch,” Atsumu cringes and Sakusa punches him firmly in the bicep.

“Why not?” Kuroo demands.

Tsukishima bites his lip and still can’t bear to face his boyfriend when he says, “Because the last thing Kenma told me was that no matter what, I couldn’t let Morpheus anywhere near your mind.”

More like warned him, really. Borderline threatened him, if Tsukishima was being honest. He’d never been scared of Kenma before, not even a little bit, but in that moment, he was a little afraid for his life.

_“If you want even the tiniest chance of surviving against Morpheus, keep Kuroo as far away from him as possible. I’ve been in his dreams and you’ve seen firsthand what they can do, how scary they can be. His mind is too easily coaxed into darkness. If Morpheus got his hands on Kuroo’s subconscious, the things he could draw from it would break him instantly.”_

So, yeah. If Kuroo wanted to go into the Dream Realm and fight Morpheus, he’d have to kill Tsukishima first, because there was no way in Hades he was going to stand aside and let him.

“Kenma said,” Tsukishima lowers his voice and finally faces Kuroo again. The rest of the group avert their eyes, trying to give them some semblance of privacy. Well, all except Atsumu who keeps watching them like they’re his new favorite reality show. “He said that Morpheus could do horrible things to your mind. Could pull the most awful things from your dreams. I know it’s not easy for you to hear this, but Morpheus is quite possibly the worst match for you. Your subconscious is your biggest weakness.”

Tsukishima hated to say it because Kuroo really had come so far from the boy who used to wake up screaming from nightmares almost every night, but those dark memories would always be a part of him. No matter how tucked away they were, they were still there.

“I don’t -” Kuroo holds both of Tsukishima’s hands between his. “I don’t want you to go without me,” he whispers. “How can I keep you safe from danger if I’m not with you?”

“Tetsurou,” Tsukishima says gently, words like a scalpel, carefully cutting into Kuroo’s skin while trying not to deal any real damage. “If you come into the Dream Realm, the biggest danger to me will be you.”

That, finally, seems to get through to him. Kuroo jerks back as if he’s been physically hit, then blinks slowly a few times, and each time Tsukishima can see the clarity and resolve in his precious gold eyes.

“Okay,” he says, bringing Tsukishima’s hands to his lips and kissing them. Atsumu makes a retching sound and they both ignore him. “You’re the brains of this mission, and I trust you. I’m always on your side, Tsukki.”

“I know,” Tsukishima says, because he does. “Thank you.”

Atsumu clears his throat loudly and Tsukishima’s head snaps over to glare at him. “That was all very touching and lovely and all, but if Lord Doom and Gloom isn’t the third person, who is?”

Goshiki starts nearly vibrating in his seat, his hand shouting straight into the air like one of Orion’s arrows.

“I can do it!”

Tsukishima sighs. “Fine, Goshiki, I already -”

“Yes!” The son of Ares shouts, pumping a fist victoriously in the air. “I won’t let you down! I’ll fight anything that even looks at us funny, you can count on me!”

Tsukishima already feels a headache coming on. He appreciates Goshiki’s fighting spirit, but does he always have to be so loud about it? Still, as soon as Tsukishima realized that their goal wasn’t to negotiate with Morpheus, but to go in swinging, he knew it was a son of Ares he needed by his side.

“The three of us,” Tsukishima warns, addressing Lev and Goshiki, “will have to stay awake for the next three days straight before facing Morpheus. We have to make sure we get as much time asleep and in the Dream Realm as possible, and anything beyond three days could be extremely dangerous to our health. Can you guys do that?”

“Easy,” Goshiki scoffs.

“Probably,” Lev says, and Tsukishima appreciates the honesty.

“Hold on a second.” It’s the first thing Sakusa’s said since they all gathered. He furrows his brows, crinkling the two moles above his eye. “If Morpheus can die in the Dream Realm…”

Everyone goes quiet as Tsukishima nods. Kuroo squeezes his hand almost painfully hard.

“So can we.”  
  
  


~*~

The first day without sleep left Tsukishima irritable.

Kuroo ended up stepping in to take the brunt of his ire to save the rest of the crew from Tsukishima’s bad mood, which he felt immensely bad about, especially when Kuroo took him back to his cabin that night and distracted him from how tired he was by loudly belting show tunes terribly off key until Tsukishima was laughing so hard his stomach ached.

“‘m sorry,” he mumbled against Kuroo’s lips, kissing him in apology when Goshiki and Atsumu started banging on the walls to get Kuroo to shut up already.

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Kuroo had only grinned. “It’s for a good reason, so I’m giving you a free, three-day Bitch Pass.”

The second day was pretty similar to the first, only every side effect of sleep deprivation was heightened, cranked up to the tenth level.

That day, he dropped his plate of food on the floor when Yamaguchi handed it to him, scattering broken shards of ceramic and veggie quiche everywhere. He didn’t even process what had happened until he noticed Yamaguchi already on his hands and knees on the floor with almost all of it cleaned up.

“Shit, here, let me,” Tsukishima knelt down to try and help, but the sudden movement made his vision swim with black spots and his head go light. He tried to catch himself and ended up cutting his hand on a piece of the broken plate. Hot, embarrassed tears threatened to spill down his cheeks, but Yamaguchi kindly and patiently helped him up, sat him on the counter, and bandaged him up.

“Why don’t you go take a walk up on deck?” Yamaguchi suggested gently, tying off the last of the gauze and patting him on the back of the hand to signal he was done. “Maybe the fresh air will help clear your mind.”

Tsukishima nodded numbly, mumbling a thanks under his breath, and slipped off the counter and to head up top.

The bright light of the sun was disorienting, and he threw up a hand to shield his eyes. Everything was still blurry, but standing at the front of the ship, looking across the horizon, he could make out a tall figure with black hair. He let out a sigh of relief, immediately heading for it.

Tsukishima wrapped his arms around the narrow waist and dropped his forehead between sharp shoulder blades.

“I hate this,” Tsukishima whined, tightening his arms. “I can’t think, my body won’t do what I tell it to - I can’t do anything! Say something ridiculously stupid and endearing to cheer me up, will you, Kuroo?”

A cleared throat. “Um, Tsukishima…”

And if the voice itself hadn’t been a dead giveaway, the fact that Kuroo never called him by his full family name would have done it.

Slowly, Tsukishima unwound his arms and peeled his body away from the one in front of him, coming face-to-face with a very clearly uncomfortable Sakusa. Well, as clear as emotions were on Sakusa’s stoic face, his eyes widened and nose scrunched up.

Tsukishima blinked at him. Sakusa blinked back. Neither of them spoke for what might have been too long of a while.

“Let’s never speak of this again,” Tsukishima finally suggested. Sakusa nodded, expression still slightly pinched.

“Deal.”

And while that had been a horribly awkward encounter that Tsukishima would surely look back on for the next twenty years of his life and cringe over, it was nothing compared to the third night without sleep.  
  
  


~*~

“Do you want me to stay up tonight with you?” Kuroo offers, reaching up a hand to stroke through Tsukishima’s hair as he sits up next to him in bed. Tsukishima shakes his head and manages a small, tired smile, even though his entire face feels like it weights a million pounds.

“We need to keep as many of us in top fighting shape as possible, just in case.”

Kuroo frowns, rubbing the heavy bruises under Tsukishima’s eyes with the lightest brush of his thumbs.

“Are you sure? I didn’t get to finish _West Side Story_ for you the other night.”

Tsukishima laughs and shakes his head again, bending down to give Kuroo a goodnight peck on the lips.

“Stick to a career in fighting monsters, Death Boy. Now go to sleep, you’re distracting me from staring at the same page of my book for eight hours straight pretending I actually have the mental capacity to read right now.”

After a few more grumbled arguments, Kuroo finally rolls over and drifts off to sleep. Tsukishima sits listening to his breathing get deeper and heavier for a while. He attempts to read, but the words keep swimming all over the page, so eventually he gives up and turns off his bedside light.

It’s probably just the combination of the silence, the darkness, and Tsukishima’s own frayed mind all working together, but he’s more and more on edge with each passing hour. Every little creak of wood or splash of waves against the ship make Tsukishima jump out of his skin, and it’s so dark that he has to keep waving his hand in front of his face to remember if his eyes are open or not.

Then, out of the silence of the night, he hears a steady thumping coming from down the hall and sits up straighter. It sounds a lot like footsteps. His heart begins to pound as they get closer and closer to his cabin. 

Should he wake Kuroo? No, it’s probably just Goshiki taking a lap around the ship to keep himself awake. 

Still, Tsukishima can't help but stare at the spot where the door is just barely cracked open and wait with his breath trapped in his chest.

Closer and closer the footsteps get, and when Tsukishima catches sight of the dark figure passing his door, his blood runs freezing cold. It’s a familiar sensation, though never any less unpleasant. 

The icy fingers dragging down his spine.

He rolls out of bed, grabs Philia from his backpack, and races out the door before his mind can even talk him out of it.

There’s a full moon tonight, the only light allowing Tsukishima to see anything when he bursts up onto the deck of the ship. He’s breathing heavily, his spear gripped so tightly in his hand it makes his wrists ache.

“Thanatos!” Tsukishima shouts in a cracked voice into the darkness of the night. The sound of waves crashing against the ship nearly drowns him out, but he knows the God can hear him. “I know you’re here! Show yourself!”

He spins in a circle, weapon raised. His vision swims and his arms shake with the effort, but he doesn’t let his guard down. He can’t let his guard down.

“He’s here,” Tsukishima whispers, his mouth forming the words but his mind not following. Who’s here?

Where is here?

This isn’t the Athena cabin. This isn’t Camp Half Blood at all.

“Suga?” Tsukishima croaks, dropping his spear and falling to his knees. It’s the first name that comes to his mind. The first person that comes to his mind when he feels small and scared. “Suga? Akaashi?” He tries for his other brother desperately. “Please, please, he’s here -” Tsukishima chokes on a sob. “Suga! Akaashi!” He screams, hunching over and curling in on his own body. Where are his brothers? Why aren’t they here to take care of him?

Another horrible sob wracks his body and this time he can’t stop the tears.

Footsteps quickly approaching him at a run snap Tsukishima’s mind back to attention and his hand instinctively closes around his spear, turning and thrusting the point towards the sound of the person approaching, an almost animalistic snarl ripping itself from his throat.

“Woah! Woah, Tsukki, hey, it’s me. It’s just me, Kei.”

Tsukishima squints at the figure before him, and the moonlight just barely illuminates it enough that he can make out the cut of a jawline, sharp eyes narrowed in concern, and a wild mess of bedhead. It pulls and tugs at one of the frayed threads in his mind until it weaves the full picture of the boy he loves.

“Kuroo,” Tsukishima whispers, horrified as he realizes how close the tip of his spear is to his boyfriend’s throat. He drops the weapon as if it had burned him, staring at his hands that don’t feel like his own. “What -? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean -”

“I know,” Kuroo crouches down next to him and pulls him into his arms. His voice is calming and steady, but he’s shaking almost as badly as Tsukishima. “I know, it’s okay. Everything’s okay. What the heck are you doing up here anyways, huh?”

“I thought…” Tsukishima trails off, staring unblinkingly over Kuroo’s shoulder. “I thought I saw someone.”

“Who?”

“I - I don’t remember.”

“That’s okay,” Kuroo says again. He gets his arms under Tsukishima’s and pulls him to his feet, letting Tsukishima keep one arm around his shoulders to help support his weight. “Come on, let’s go steal some snacks from Atsumu’s secret stash in the kitchen, okay? I’ll stay up with you tonight.”

Even if Tsukishima hadn’t been too tired to argue with Kuroo this time, he’s not sure he would have.  
  
  


~*~

“Take care of my body while I’m gone. Don’t let Atsumu do anything weird to it.”

Tsukishima cuts a glare over at the son of Hermes who gives him a deceptively innocent smile, as if he hadn't been the one to draw a cheeseburger in a top hat on Hinata’s cheek when he feel asleep at breakfast one morning. The ink had been some Miya twin speciality, and wouldn’t fade for at least two weeks. Of course, Hinata being Hinata, had grown extremely fond of the little doodle and was pretty upset when it finally did wash off.

Kuroo gives him a mock salute and a wink. “You can trust your body with me!”

Tsukishima groans and puts a hand on Kuroo’s face, trying to push him away when his boyfriend laughs and goes in for a kiss.

Kenma told Tsukishima that to go into the Dream Realm together, the three of them would have to be touching each other when they slept, which meant they couldn’t all sleep in their own cabins. Makeshift beds on deck were the next best option, so they were all gathered up on deck where there were a bunch pillows and blankets spread out next to each other on the ground.

Goshiki is on the ground doing some last second one-armed pushups which Tsukishima has no idea where he got the energy to do, and Lev is using the bathroom, as he’s been doing every five minutes after all the cups of coffee he’d drank over the past few days. Yamaguchi is rubbing some lavender he grew on their pillowcases to help them sleep. Sakusa stands a few feet away overlooking the water, and if Atsumu edges even half an inch closer to him, Tsukishima is pretty sure he’s gonna end up taking another unexpected swim.

“Hey,” Kuroo says, suddenly much more serious. He cups Tsukishima’s cheeks in his hands and forces their eyes to meet. There’s an intensity in his piercing gaze. “You come back to me, okay?”

“Yeah.” Tsukishima swallows hard past the lump in his throat. “I will.”

He's been here before, in Kuroo’s position. Watching him run headfirst into danger, only hoping that he’ll come back in one piece.

Kuroo pulls at Tsukishima until their foreheads are resting together. Tsukishima is vaguely aware of Lev returning and Goshiki finishing his pushups, but he can only focus on Kuroo’s eyes, the way his thumbs press gently into Tsukishima’s jaw.

“I almost lost you to a God once already. Please, be careful. I can’t do it again.”

It’s not goodbye when Kuroo kisses him, but Tsukishima still feels an empty ache in his chest forming.  
  
  


~*~

The Dream Realm resembles something much closer to a nightmare.

It’s a dark, barren landscape with ominous storm clouds overhead, crackling with lightning, casting the entire area in a creepy purple light. Silhouettes of rocky cliffs and mountains decorate the horizon, and the ground beneath their feet is spongey like moss.

“Spooky,” Lev aptly assesses.

“No kidding,” Tsukishima mutters. He taps his lower lip thoughtfully as he looks around, working out a plan of action in his head. Kuroo says it’s a ‘distractingly sexy’ habit of his, tapping his lip while he thinks, but Tsukishima just finds the rhythmic motion helps him focus. Also, it doesn’t hurt that he likes the way he knows Kuroo stares when he does it…

“Kuroo!” Lev exclaims, as if he’s reading Tsukishima’s mind. “What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to stay on the ship?”

Tsukishima quickly turns, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He’s sure Lev is messing with him, or maybe seeing figures in the shadows, but there’s no mistaking. Walking towards them with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his ripped black jeans and pearly white crooked grin glinting in the darkness - it’s definitely Kuroo.

“That’s not really Kuroo, dumbass,” Goshiki scoffs. Tsukishima tries to hide his confusion. “He must be from Lover Boy’s dreams.” He jerks a thumb in Tsukishima’s direction.

“Shut up,” Tsukishima grumbles under his breath, but now that he looks more closely, there’s no denying it. He can’t believe he didn’t realize it right away. That’s Kuroo Tetsurou, straight out of his seventeen year old subconscious. Sharp smile, confident swagger, and all.

_Please keep your shirt on, please keep your shirt on, please keep your shirt on,_ Tsukishima silently prays.

“Why does he have a scar?” Lev squints, cocking his head to the side.

Tsukishima fights down a blush while Goshiki laughs. There’s no use denying it. There’s a very obvious scar going down one side of Kuroo’s face, from his forehead down to his cheek, that he definitely doesn’t have in real life. So Tsukishima likes to take a few creative liberties in his dreams, what’s the big deal? He happens to think that Kuroo would like quite roguishly handsome with a scar.

Dream Kuroo walks right up to Tsukishima and smirks, taking his face into his large, calloused hands and Tsukishima has to fight off the growing weakness in his knees. It feels so real, all the way down to the rough slide of Kuroo’s palms and the warmth of his skin.

“Hello, beautiful,” Dream Kuroo purrs, sounding so incredibly like Tsukishima’s Kuroo, too. He has to give it to himself, his dreams are pretty damn accurate.

“Um,” Tsukishima says eloquently, swallowing hard. He’s painfully aware of Lev and Goshiki watching them, but there’s some sort of classical conditioning going on in his brain right now. When Dream Kuroo touches him and talks to him in that low, sultry voice, well. Usually Tsukishima’s dreams get pretty exciting right around this part.

He’s a healthy seventeen year old boy who sleeps in the same bed as his hot, shirtless boyfriend every night - of course this is what his dreams look like! In real life, physically he and Kuroo have been going pretty slow, so his dreams are where Tsukishima goes for something a little…faster.

Dream Kuroo leans in closer so that their lips are almost touching and whispers, “How do you want it tonight, pretty boy?”

And, oh. Tsukishima is a half second away from throwing the entire plan out the window because it all feels so _real,_ and he’d be a damn liar if he said he didn’t want this.

But then, Tsukishima looks into Kuroo’s eyes. Really, really looks.

Maybe his dreams aren’t that accurate after all, because Dream Kuroo’s gold eyes are flat. They’re the right color and the right size and the right shape, but there’s something obvious missing in them. In the real world, Kuroo’s eyes shimmer like the surface of the water in the sunlight, hiding endless depths and beauty below. There’s an intelligence and a humor always sparkling in them, and Tsukishima often finds himself drowning in their wonder.

This Kuroo’s eyes are more like a desert. Pretty enough, but dry and empty.

Tsukishima tilts his head to the side and puts his own hand on Dream Kuroo’s cheek, smiling sadly.

“You really don’t hold a candle to the real thing, do you?” He asks. Dream Kuroo frowns and tries to take a step closer, but Tsukishima easily sidesteps him and knocks him to the ground with a swift kick to the back of the knees. “Just stay there and stay out of our way,” he warns, planting a foot on the dream’s chest when he tries to stand. “The fact that I was even able to take you down makes you a pathetic excuse for my boyfriend.”

Goshiki whistles low. “Ruthless,” he compliments. “I thought I was gonna have to knock you out and drag your body away pretty soon.”

“We don’t have time to mess around in here,” Tsukishima says. _Plus, I have the real Kuroo to get back to._ “Come on, let’s go.”

“Um, go where?”

Tsukishima points to a single spot on the horizon where the storm clouds break for just an moment, a ray of light shining through.

“That looks like a good place to start.”  
  
  


~*~

Things only get weirder the further they get into the Dream Realm. It feels like they’re making the place itself angrier and angrier, the closer they get to that little spot of light, the electricity crackling in the clouds above them getting louder and the ground shaking with distant rumbling thunder. Tsukishima takes that as a good sign that they’re on their way to finding Morpheus.

The weirdest part, however, is their own dreams. Or rather, the aspects of their dreams that have made it into the Realm. From what Kenma told him, Tsukishima knows that not every dream ends up in the Dream Realm, it’s usually only things that are reoccurring and hold an almost permanent space in your subconscious. Hence, why his Dream Kuroo showed up here.

He isn’t the only one whose dreams start taking shape in the Dream Realm.

“Oh, sick!” Goshiki exclaims at one point as they’re wandering along. “Mega-Destructo-Weapon Five!”

“Bless you,” Lev says.

Goshiki ignores him and both Tsukishima and Lev watch in confusion as the son of Ares runs off and grabs what looks like the hilt of a sword that’s buried in a large boulder.

“A sword in a stone?” Tsukishima snorts at the cliché. “Really, Goshiki?”

With both hands wrapped firmly around the hilt, Goshiki puts one foot against the rock for leverage and pulls with all of his strength.

Tsukishima doesn’t remember much about how the story went, why no one could pull the sword from the stone except for Arthur, but he has a feeling when the sword comes free in Goshiki’s hands as easily as a hot knife through butter that it means something.

Something that he thinks he’s known about Goshiki all along.

Mega-Destructo-Weapon Five is a sword about half as tall as Goshiki himself, curved like a crescent moon with a threateningly pointed tip. The blade itself is smooth on one side and serrated like a knife on the other, and Tsukishima isn’t sure what tactical advantage that gives the wielder of the weapon, but Goshiki looks at it with stars in his eyes, so he doesn’t ask any questions. 

About an hour later, they come across a strangely shaped landform sticking out of the ground. Jagged and lumpy, like something that was clearly supposed to resemble a hill or a mountain, but missed its mark by a long shot.

“What - What is that supposed to be?” Tsukishima asks.

Lev gasps delightedly and sprints over to the mass, embracing it with both arms. Then, Tsukishima’s early nearly bug out of his head when he takes a giant bite out of it.

“He’s finally cracked,” Goshiki says sadly, and Tsukishima is inclined to agree with him until Lev happily calls over to them.

“Mount Grilled Cheese!” He shouts with his mouth still full. “It’s a mountain - made out of grilled cheese! This is from my dreams!”

“Gee,” Tsukishima says dryly. “I never would have guessed.”

Goshiki snickers under his breath while Tsukishima grabs Lev by the collar of his shirt and drags him away from his precious Mount Grilled Cheese.

Right about now, Dream Kuroo isn’t looking too embarrassing after all.

After about a few hours that they spend walking through the Dream Realm, Tsukishima estimates that they’re about halfway to the spot of light at the end of the storm clouds now. He also estimates that they’re probably about halfway through their time here, so there’s not a lot of room for mistakes at this point.

Naturally, that’s when the skies open up and the rain starts to pour.

“Alright,” Tsukishima grouses, holding a hand above his eyes to try and keep the water droplets from clinging to his glasses. “Which one of you dreams about singing in the rain, huh?”

Lev’s lower lip juts out. “The grilled cheese is getting all soggy,” he laments.

Tsukishima notices Goshiki tense up, but he doesn’t think much of it.

That is, until a giant stone wall looms on the horizon, suddenly appearing right in their path. Tsukishima knows he wouldn’t have missed it if it had been there the whole time, which means Morpheus must have put it there to try and slow them down.

They’re definitely heading in the right direction, then.

“What is that?” Lev asks curiously, tipping his head back to look all the way to the top of the wall.

“Looks like a dam. Morpheus must be trying to get us to turn around, which is exactly why we have to keep going forward. There has to be a way around it somehow.”

"Dam," Lev comments

“We can’t.” Goshiki’s voice came from behind, and Tsukishima turns and realizes he’s stopped in his tracks, staring up at the stone wall with wide, panicked eyes.

It’s the first time he’s ever seen the son of Ares look afraid.

“Goshiki,” Tsukishima says slowly. “What’s going on?”

“We can’t go this way any further.” Goshiki shakes his head frantically, already starting to back away. “We have to turn around.”

“What? Why?” Lev asks.

“The dam - It’s from my dreams,” Goshiki admits. “And it’s about to break.”

As if to punctuate his statement, the cement wall makes an ominous _cracking_ sound, a large break appearing right in the middle, and quickly splintering off into little ones, making a spiderweb of cracks. Goshiki suddenly grabs Tsukishima’s wrist hard enough to bruise it and yanks so hard he nearly pulls the arm out of its socket, dragging him along in the opposite direction.

“Woah, calm down, you’re hurting me! What’s the big deal? What aren’t you telling us?”

Goshiki looks back over his shoulder and lightning crackles above, illuminating the haunted look in his eyes. The rain starts to pour harder in sheets that almost make it impossible to see.

“You said we can really die in here, right?” Goshiki asks in a rush. Tsukishima nods dumbly. “Well, if we don’t get far away from here as soon as possible, I’m going to.”

“What?” Tsukishima can’t help but laugh. “The son of the God of War is afraid of a little water?” Goshiki fixes him with a flat stare. “Oh my Gods.” He realizes. “You _are_ afraid of water, aren’t you?”

“It’s a lot of water, okay!”

“Goshiki,” Tsukishima frees his wrist from the other boy’s death grip. “This isn’t a dream for you, is it? This is a nightmare.”

Stubbornly, Goshiki looks away, but Tsukishima catches the flash of shame across his face.

“When I was a kid…” He exhales roughly and starts again. “When I was a kid, my mom took me to see a psychic. I think she was expecting to hear that I was destined to be some great war hero or something like that, but that’s not what happened. The only destiny I got was that I was going to die. By drowning. A horrible, watery death. My mom took me to a bunch my psychics after that, all over the country, and every single one of them said the same thing. It wasn’t a fluke. It was the truth.”

Tsukishima pauses, taking in all of this new information. When he first heard the word ‘psychic’ he was skeptical, but if dozens of them all came to the same conclusion… Some of them must have really been blessed by Apollo with the gift of prophecy.

Odds are, Goshiki’s destiny is true.

“You’re the absolute biggest moron I’ve ever met!” Tsukishima shouts, suddenly grabbing the son of Ares by the shoulders and shaking him roughly, sending water droplets flying. “Why in Hades would you come on a _boat_ to go _sailing_ around the world if you knew you were destined to _drown_ , you simple-minded meathead!”

“Because everyone thinks it makes me weak!” Goshiki grabs him back, fingernails digging into the Tsukishima’s boney shoulders. His face is turning red, a dangerous rage on his face that only a child of Ares could pull off. “My siblings and my dad - everyone! They think some stupid destiny makes me weak! They don’t think I’m strong enough to defy the Fates!”

Tsukishima blinks the water out of his eyes, anger melting away. _Strong enough to defy the Fates._ It sounds dangerously arrogant coming out of the mouth of another, but isn’t that exactly what he and Kuroo set out to do just a few months ago?

This might be the first time he’s ever had something in common with Goshiki Tsutomu. The hot-headed, reckless and impatient son of Ares who rushed into battle without a thought in his head and did pull-ups for fun and thought that _Mythbusters_ was an educational television program.

At the end of the day, they really weren’t all that different, were they? Ares was the God of War; Athena was the Goddess of Strategic War. Tsukishima was basically Goshiki, but with impulse-control. (Well, most of the time.)

Slowly, Goshiki’s face clears and he releases Tsukishima from his grip. They stand there, simply staring at each other with water dripping down their faces. Two sides of the same fucked up family coin.

“The Fates,” Tsukishima says finally, “are a bitch.”

Goshiki lets out a shaky laugh and holds out his arm to Tsukishima. An olive branch. He takes it, their hands clasped around each other’s forearms, pressed vein to vein.

“Hey guys?” Lev calls, voice sounding anxious. “Should we be worried about that?”

In the center of the web of cracks, a small stream of water was starting to trickle down. The dam wouldn’t be able to take the pressure much longer, and pretty soon the little spout of water was going to burst until this entire area was swept away by the sudden flood of water.

“Yeah,” Tsukishima sighs. “I have an idea for that. Lev, I’m gonna need to borrow your dim-witted brain for a moment.”

“Cool!”  
  
  


~*~

Relying on anything called ‘Mount Grilled Cheese’ for a plan wasn’t something Tsukishima had ever done before or was ever planning on doing again, but it was the best thing he could up with on the fly. This was the Dream Realm and this was Lev’s dream. Tsukishima had him close his eyes and think about Mount Grilled Cheese as hard as he could, to imagine it right in front of them.

And like magic (or a dream), it appeared.

It was only twenty, maybe thirty feet high, but Tsukishima was pretty sure it was tall enough to keep them out of the way of the flood when the dam broke. If it wasn’t, well… He was trying not to think about that possibility.

They’ve only been sitting up here for about five minutes and Lev has already eaten eleven sandwiches. Tsukishima is a little worried about the state of Lev’s cholesterol level, but there’s no time to think about that now. 

The dam is close to breaking.

“Lev, put that grilled cheese down and hold on tight,” Tsukishima warns, right as a horrible cracking sound fills the air and a huge gush of water breaks through the dam. The hole in the middle crumbles and grows until the entire thing gives away and a wall of water comes barreling towards them, like an angry stampede.

Goshiki’s face goes white as a sheet and Lev yelps, dropping his half eaten sandwich on the ground. The huge current washes it away in the blink of an eye.

The force of the water hitting the base of Mount Grilled Cheese makes the entire thing rock perilously, and there’s little more than Tsukishima can do but just grit his teeth and dig his fingers into the layers of toast and melted cheese beneath him.

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Goshiki groans, face going slightly green. Lev awkwardly pats him on the shoulder and directs him to do it over the side of the mountain.

That’s when the base layer of grilled cheese starts to give.

Tsukishima expected as much, they were on a mountain made of bread and cheese after all, not rocks. The water was making the bottom of the mountain soggy and unstable, and while Tsukishima had mentally calculated that it wouldn’t give out completely, it did make the top of the mountain sway like a leaf in the wind. 

Gods, he could really use a son of Poseidon right about now.

“Tsukishima?” Goshiki’s voice is shaky and clearly panicked. When Tsukishima looks over at him, his face has gone from green to white, expression terrified and desperate. It isn’t a great look on a son of Ares, and Tsukishima finds himself actually missing Goshiki’s usual cockiness and grandeur.

“It’s fine, don’t worry,” Tsukishima responds in as confident of a voice as he can manage.

Comforting people was never really his specialty. He was always the younger sibling, the one who got comforted. Even back when he used to go to the Hades cabin to help Kuroo through his nightmares, he never really knew what to say. Luckily, all Kuroo usually needed was for Tsukishima to be there, so he didn’t have to say anything at all.

But he’s been raised listening to the comforting words of one of the best older siblings a person could ask for.

“Goshiki.” Tsukishima grabs his attention and locks their arms together, hands clasped the same way they were before. Goshiki looks up at him, wide eyes full of fear and surprise. “Listen to me: _Fuck_ what the psychics and the Fates say. You’re strong and brave and a good person, and you _are_ destined to be a great hero, okay?” The sword in the stone had pretty much confirmed all of that for Tsukishima. “You promised to help me stop this war, so I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you. I have your back.”

He’s not sure it has the same impact as when Sugawara does it, in his soothing, almost melodic voice with his warm brown eyes, but the words themselves must be enough, because suddenly the cold, wet panic in Goshiki’s eyes is replaced with a sparking ember of fighting flames. He gives one short, determined nod and squeezes Tsukishima’s arm tight.

They don’t let go or look away from each other’s eyes until the last of the water has settled, leaving nothing behind but sporadic puddles scattered across the mossy floor.

Goshiki looks around and the color visibly returns to his cheeks at the lack of drown-able bodies of water.

“Thank you, Mount Grilled Cheese,” Lev says sagely, patting the sandwiches affectionately. Tsukishima refuses to say as much out loud, but he mentally thanks Lev’s stupid dream mountain all the same.

They all climb back down the mountain, Goshiki all but kissing the ground when he makes the final leap off the mountain. 

“Why am I not surprised to find the three of you at the center of all this noise?”

The three of them jump at the sudden voice. Not because it’s unfamiliar, but because it comes from out of sight.

It is, in fact, very familiar.

Sleepy-eyed, hair haphazardly dyed blonde, and feet shuffling across the ground like he can’t be bothered to pick them up, Kenma appears from behind Mount Grilled Cheese.

“How did you know we were here?” Tsukishima asks, relieved at the sight of the son of Hypnos. Kenma may not be much in a fight, but he undoubtably knows the Dream Realm better than any of them.

“It’s not like you were hard to find. The Dream Realm is usually much quieter.” Kenma shoots them all an unimpressed look.

“Kenma!” Lev bounds over to the shorter boy. “You can help us now that you’re here, can’t you?” 

He tugs excitedly on Kenma’s arm while the son of Hypnos shoots him a withering glare. The two of them always had a strange sort of camaraderie. Tsukishima thinks is has something to do with the two of them coming to camp right around the same time, both a little later than most campers, and being placed in the Hermes cabin together while Kenma waited to be claimed by his rightful godly parent. He always looked like he was in a little bit of pain when he was with Lev, but they spent almost the entire summer by each other’s sides anyways.

“I can help point you in the right direction,” Kenma says. “But I’m not here to fight. I wouldn’t stand a chance against Morpheus, anyways.”

“Oh, we already know what direction to go in!” Lev points towards the spot of light on the horizon.

Kenma shakes his head. “You won’t find Morpheus there. It’s just a decoy, meant to distract you and send you on a wild goose chase. And it worked.”

“But the dam.” Tsukishima frowns. “Why would he put the dam in our way if we weren’t even going in the right direction?”

“To make you _think_ that you were still going in the right direction.” Kenma arches an eyebrow at Tsukishima, just the briefest tic. “Aren’t you supposed to be the brains of this group? It was an obvious set up.”

"Dam," Lev mutters, shaking his head.

A set up. Tsukishima had fallen for a set up?

“Come on, follow me. I’ll take you to where he’s really hiding.”

No. No, that couldn’t be. Tsukishima didn’t _fall_ for set ups. He wasn’t sure it was actually physically possible. There was no way he would be tricked so easily.

But it had been easy, hadn’t it? He saw the bright spot of light and followed it like a kitten chasing after a laser pointer. Morpheus was probably having a good, long laugh at him from wherever he was watching from.

Some son of Athena he was.

In slow, almost robotic movements, Tsukishima starts to follow Kenma, his shame prickling hotly beneath his skin

“Isn’t this the same way we came from?” Lev asks, looking around with his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“Not exactly,” Kenma answers without turning back.

Lev’s confused, almost conflicted frown is what nearly brings Tsukishima’s feet to a screeching halt, heart speeding up in his chest.

He slides his gaze over to Goshiki, who glances back at him out of the corner of his eye and gives a small nod. Tsukishima crosses his arms as casually as he can, making sure that Goshiki can see where his three fingers rest on the inside of his elbow.

He pulls one finger in.

Two.

He pulls the next finger in.

One.

He pulls his last finger in, and he and Goshiki move as one, tackling Kenma to the ground and holding him down while Goshiki puts his weapon’s blade to his throat. Lev makes a vaguely alarmed noise, reaching out like he wants to stop them and free Kenma, but pulls away at the last second with that same conflicted look in his eyes.

“What - What in Hades are you two doing?” Kenma looks up at them, sleepy eyes gone wide and startled. “We don’t have time for this! You’re going to wake up soon!”

“You would know, wouldn't you?” Tsukishima growls, pinning one of his wrists to his side while Goshiki keeps one knee on the center of his chest and the other pinning his other wrist to the ground. “Morpheus.”

Kenma’s face goes slack with shock, eyes darting between them all frantically. “Are you crazy? How long have the three of you been in here? This place is starting to play games with your minds.”

The blade of Goshiki’s swords lets up, just the slightest bit. He looks to Tsukishima questioningly.

“It’s him,” Tsukishima confirms. “Morpheus can perfectly imitate any living thing, down to the very last cell. You even talk like Kenma. You must have his memories, too. You reacted to Lev the exact same way the real Kenma does.”

“Do you hear yourself right now?” Kenma-slash-Morpheus squirms in their hold. “Of course I reacted to Lev the same way I always do, he’s still the same idiot he always is!”

Lev shifts his weight uncomfortably between his feet. “That does sound like something Kenma would say. Tsukishima, are you _really_ sure…”

“You tell me.” Tsukishima turns, catching Lev’s eye. “He was lying, wasn’t he? When he said he wasn’t leading us back the exact same way we just came from. He was lying, and you know it.”

If anyone could sense a change in direction, even the slightest bit, it was Lev.

Lev’s mouth opens in a wordless answer, gaze flickering helplessly between Tsukishima and who he thinks is Kenma.

Before he can even answer, Kenma-slash-Morpheus groans exasperatedly, thunking his head back onto the ground.

“You children of Athena have always been such a pain in my ass, you know that?”

And his voice still sounds like Kenma’s, but the words are much harsher and colder than Kenma has ever sounded. 

Lev’s expression crumbles and then builds itself back up, hardening like a brick wall.

“You’re not Kenma.”

“No shit, kid.” Morpheus rolls his eyes, gaze landing on Goshiki above him. “You gonna do something with that blade of yours, or are we just gonna stare into each other’s eyes for the rest of eternity?”

“You -” Goshiki starts. His voice is trembling almost as badly as his hands now, as he obviously makes a valiant effort to sink it further into Morpheus’ throat. His head drops in defeat, pressure easing up and the God of Dreams chuckles lowly at him. “He just… He looks so much like him,” Goshiki whispers.

Lev has to look away. 

Morpheus gives Tsukishima a smug look out of the corner of his eye, and the expression looks so out of place on Kenma’s placid face that it fills Tsukishima to the brim with anger. How _dare_ he steal the face of someone Tsukishima trusts - of someone they _all_ trust - just to toy with them like this? To play off any demigod from Camp Half Blood’s biggest weakness.

Their family.

“Goshiki, I know that - that _thing_ looks like Kenma, but -”

“Are you sure you don’t want to know before you send me to the pit?” Kenma’s slitted, cat-like eyes are made bone-chillingly creepy with Morpheus’ cunning, knowing gaze behind them.

“Know what?” Tsukishima hedges cautiously. With Goshiki’s blade to his throat, Morpheus is hardly a threat to them right now, but this is the God of Dreams. He has no idea what he knows about them all.

“The son of Hades,” Morpheus says casually, and Tsukishima feels every warning bell in his head start to go off. “All of those deep, dark, dusty corners in his mind that he’ll never be able to clean out. The things about him you’ll never be able to fix. The demons that will live between the two of you, for however long the rest of your measly mortal lives last.”

A snarl rips its way out of Tsukishima’s throat, grinding his knee down until he can feel the fragile bones of Morpheus’ wrist cracking beneath his weight. The God of Dreams gasps in pain, but it quickly morphs into a crazed laugh.

“I don’t want to fix Kuroo,” Tsukishima hisses. “I love him just the way he is, demons and all.”

“And what about you?” Morpheus cracks a broken grin at him. Tsukishima hears a demented lullaby start to play in his head. “You still don’t remember what happened the other night, do you? But I do. I know that no matter how hard you try to hide it behind that prissy little front of yours, you’re _afraid,_ Tsukishima Kei. And when your nightmares start to walk alongside the waking, what will you do then?”

Somewhere in the distance behind him, the sound of a metal weapon being dragged across the ground.

No, not just a metal weapon.

A scythe.

Morpheus’ laughter grows louder, more haunting. Tsukishima’s entire body freezes up, icy fingers dragging down his spine. He hears the footsteps getting closer, the music in his head playing louder, and he can’t move.

“You’re going to fail, don’t you see, son of Athena? Your nightmares are so much greater than just bad dreams. Your nightmares are your reality. Asleep or awake, you can never escape the -”

Morpheus’ words break off into a choked-off gurgling sound as Goshiki’s hands, no longer trembling and unsteady, press the blade of his sword clean through his neck.

The lullaby in Tsukishima’s head slows like a music box winding down, until there’s silence again. No music, no sound of scythes in the distance. The body beneath them turns to golden dust and scatters in the wind.

Tsukishima drags in a harsh breath of air, hands flying to his chest to try and keep his heart from pounding right out of it. Goshiki releases a relieved sigh, falling back onto his ass and rolling his head to the side to look at Tsukishima.

“You good?”

Swallowing hard, Tsukishima nods. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m… Thanks.”

Goshiki shrugs one shoulder and gives him a wan smile. “I have your back, too.”

And with that, Tsukishima knows he’s gained himself a loyal soldier - and friend - for life.  
  
  


~*~

The first thing Tsukishima notices when he wakes up in his own body again is Kuroo’s back placed immovably in front of him.

The second thing is that his clothes are all wet.

The third is the hundreds of giant sharp-toothed, water-spraying sea serpent heads swarming around the _Argo II_ like a pack of wolves descending upon a wounded lamb.

“What _happened?”_ Tsukishima manages to gasp out just as another spray of water from one of the monster’s mouths hits the deck right in front of him and sprays him in the face.

Kuroo glances back at him over his shoulder for half a second, but it’s long enough that Tsukishima catches the way his face lights up, shoulders sagging in relief for a just a moment before they’re raising his sword defensively again. His shirt is torn at one of the sleeves, his wet hair pushed back messily from his face - the signs of a long-fought battle. 

How long had he been standing here, fighting off monsters to protect Tsukishima and the others?

“Hey, babe, glad you’re finally awake! We ran into a little trouble while you were gone, but don’t worry, we have this all under control! Just don’t get eaten, okay? I gotta go help out!” Kuroo flashes him a quick thumbs up before running off to join the fray, slashing more heads from their necks as he goes.

“No,” Tsukishima looks around, eyes widening in horror. Left and right, blades are swinging and the monster’s heads are dropping like flies. “No, no, _no!_ All of you, stop!” He shouts, but his voice just gets eaten up in the chaos.

Beside him, Lev blinks slowly awake, eyes going wide as saucers as he takes in the scene. “On second thought, the Dream Realm wasn’t so bad after all.”

“Aha!” Goshiki jumps right to his feet the moment his eyes open, scrambling to pick up the sword he had left behind in this world, not far from his sleeping body. “Finally, something to kill that doesn’t look like my friend!”

“Goshiki, don’t!” Tsukishima grabs him by the wrist to stop him. “You can’t kill that thing by cutting off its heads!”

The son of Ares lowers his weapon in confusion. “It seems to be working just fine for them,” he says in a surly pout, gesturing to Kuroo, Sakusa, and Atsumu, barely anything more than blurs of motion as they dance across the deck, weapons slashing at anything that moves.

“Not for long.” Tsukishima forces his voice louder than before. “Stop cutting its heads off!”

It’s Atsumu who reacts to his words first, looking back at him with furrowed brows. There’s a nasty looking cut across one of his collarbones. “What?” He shouts back. “Why?”

“It’s a Hydra!” Finally, Kuroo and Sakusa turn their attention to him as well. “Every time you cut off one of its heads, two more grow back in its place!”

“I thought that was grey hairs?”

“Shut up, Atsumu!”

“So how do we kill it?” Kuroo asks, ducking under a head as it swings his way, barely dodging the rows of razor-sharp teeth. It’s obviously taking a lot of self-restraint to go against his fighting instincts to swing at it. Atsumu and Sakusa start moving defensively as well, swords hanging by their sides uncertainly.

Tsukishima looks around frantically, trying to keep a clear head. They’re on a boat, aren’t they? There should be some rope around here or something…

“We need to tie its heads up to get them out of the way so someone can go after its body!”

“Oh, I’ve got it!”

Tsukishima whirls around, every other head whipping in the direction of Yamaguchi’s voice. Tsukishima hadn’t even noticed he was missing in the chaos of the fray, but now he steps out confidently from behind a support beam, his precious strawberry plant held close to his chest.

“Yamaguchi, don’t -” Tsukishima starts, but his friend stops the rest of his words with a simple, calm smile.

“You’re sweet to worry, Tsukki, but really. I’ve got it.”

_No, no, no, no,_ Tsukishima’s mind shouts. This must be what Kuroo felt like, he thinks. Helplessly standing there and watching Tsukishima face the Nemean Lion head on. Kuroo hadn’t believed in him then, but Tsukishima proved him wrong. He had a plan, and he was confident in himself.

Yamaguchi looks just as sure of himself now as Tsukishima had been then.

He steps aside to let Yamaguchi pass. He really hopes he gets proven wrong, too.

It feels like the entire world slows, like the Titan Kronos himself makes time climb to a near stop, as Yamaguchi walks out to the center of the deck, staring down the Hydra with his mouth set into a determined line and not much else. He isn’t even holding a _weapon_ for Gods sake! Tsukishima better not have just made a huge mistake.

And then, Yamaguchi does something Tsukishima has never seen him do before. Something he’s never seen _anyone_ do before.

Holding his strawberry plant in one hand, he waves the other one above it and his finger start to…glow. Green and vibrant, like sunlight glinting off a field of baby fresh grass. 

The strawberry plant begins to glow, as well, and in the span of less than a second, it grows to nearly the same size as one of the Hydra’s necks. A long, thick vine that with a flick of his wrist, Yamaguchi sends flying towards the Hydra, quickly and neatly tying up all of its hundreds of heads like it’s nothing more than a writhing, spitting, _deadly_ bouquet.

Someone’s sword drops to the ground with a _clang,_ as they all stare up at Yamaguchi’s handiwork with their jaws hanging open.

“Anybody gonna finish that?” He asks casually, jerking a thumb in the Hydra’s direction. They all look around at each other for a few second before Sakusa moves into action, vaulting himself over the side of the ship into the water where the rest of the Hydra’s body was hidden safely out of sight. Only a few moments later, the monster turns to gold dust, disappearing out of the air.

Tsukishima can barely do much more than stare at his best friend, collecting his little strawberry plant back into its pot, murmuring words of praise to it with his freckled cheeks stretched into a grin, as if he had never seen him before.

“Hey,” Kuroo sprints across the deck to him, slipping on a few patches of water on the way in his haste. He takes Tsukishima by the shoulders and checks him over for any obvious injuries. “You’re okay, right? Things with Morpheus went okay? The Hydra didn’t get you? I took care of your body the best I could, but it was kind of hard to protect you from a hundred heads at once.”

Tsukishima blinks away from Yamaguchi, taking in Kuroo’s eyes, shimmering like the surface of the water and can’t help but haul him in for a kiss. Their soaking wet clothes cling together and it’s cold and wet but Kuroo feels so alive and _perfect._ Kuroo makes a muffled sound of surprise, but quickly returns the kiss, arms going from Tsukishima’s shoulders to his waist and crushing their bodies together, completely oblivious to anyone else in the world.

“It was…” _And when your nightmares start to walk alongside the waking, what will you do then?_ “Fine. Weird. But we got him.”

Kuroo grins proudly at him and the coldness of Tsukishima’s wet clothes immediately gives way to the warmth blooming inside of him. “I knew you would. But please, let’s never do that again, okay? I stick with you and you stick with me, from now on.”

Tsukishima nods immediately, no hesitation. He can’t imagine any nightmare being too scary to handle as long as he has Kuroo with him.

There’s a thumping sound as a spiral of water deposits Sakusa back on deck. Tsukishima is briefly jealous of the water’s healing powers on the son of Poseidon. His skin is practically glowing with health, the only sign of a battle on his body being the golden dust from the Hydra’s remains sprinkled in his dark hair.

Atsumu cocks his head to the side and walks closer to Sakusa, lifting a hand to run it through the long, curly front pieces of his hair, little gold flecks coming off onto his fingertips.

“Pretty,” he remarks. Sakusa’s face goes bright red with anger and he slaps Atsumu’s hand away.

“It’s basically the monster equivalent of a rotting corpse, you moron.”

“You make rotting corpse look good, Om - Ow! Omi!” Atsumu whines, trailing after Sakusa as the son of Poseidon storms down below deck. Tsukishima sometimes wonders what it is that makes Atsumu want to die by Sakusa’s hand so badly, but then he decides that he doesn't actually care that much.

“I’m going to make us all some scones,” Yamaguchi says decisively, heading for the kitchen. Tsukishima watches him go, but before he can even open his mouth, Kuroo is nudging him forward.

“Go on. We’ll clean this mess up, right guys?” He raises his voice at the end, pointedly stopping Goshiki and Lev in their tracks as they try to sneak below deck as well.

“I just killed a God, and now you want me to clean Hydra guts?” Goshiki pouts.

“Yup. Grab a mop, kid.”  
  
  


~*~

The oven is already preheating and the metallic sound of Yamaguchi’s spoon clanging around in his mixing bowl fills the room when Tsukishima follows him into the kitchen. Yamaguchi doesn’t seem at all put off by his appearance, handing him a stick of butter as he walks past without even looking up.

“Cut this into four even pieces, will you?”

They stand side by side at the counter, Tsukishima meticulously measuring out the stick of butter while Yamaguchi adds more ingredients to the mixture in his bowl, humming under his breath. Tsukishima can’t help but steal glances over at his friends hands, but they still look like the same hands he’s had all his life. Long, skinny fingers covered in flour and powdered sugar. Not glowing at all.

“Since when could you do that?” Tsukishima finally breaks the silence. Yamaguchi throws another pinch of salt into the batter, wrist never stopping its stirring.

“Since always,” he says simply.

Tsukishima finishes his cutting and wipes his hands off on a towel, trying not to let too much bitterness slip into his voice when he asks, “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“You never asked.” Now, Yamaguchi’s hands do still, placing the bowl and spoon on the counter calmly and turning to face Tsukishima. “Did you really never consider why I, a son of Demeter who gets along perfectly well with his family, had to stay at camp year round?”

Tsukishima opens his mouth to responds and stops. And for the first time, he actually does consider it.

There were only a few reasons that demigods stayed at camp all year instead of just the summer. There were the kids like Tsukishima, who didn’t have a home to go back to, there were kids like the Miya twins, who technically had a home, but much preferred camp (Tsukishima didn’t know all the specifics, but he heard their mom was crazy), and finally, there were kids like Oikawa. Kids who had to stay at camp all year because it was the safest place for them. Because their powers were too strong to allow them to live a normal life in the real world. Either they attracted too many monsters, or in Oikawa’s case, they attracted too many…others.

Kuroo has told him dozens of stories of monsters attacking him and Bokuto when they went home for the school year. As children of the Big Three, monsters were drawn to them like moths to a flame, but luckily they were both strong enough to take care of themselves. Sakusa used to go home, too, but the rumors were that his dad played a part in keeping him safe. He never confirmed the rumors himself, though.

If Yamaguchi didn’t fall under the first category, and Yamaguchi didn’t fall under the second category, either…

“It’s because you’re too strong,” Tsukishima realizes, unable to hide the shock and awe in his voice. Yamaguchi quirks a little grin at him.

“No need to sound so surprised,” he huffs, smacking Tsukishima lightly on the arm.

“I wouldn’t if I had ever seen you do anything like that before back at camp!”

“I had no reason to.” Yamaguchi shrugs easily.

“No reason -” Tsukishima gapes. “We could have won so many more capture the flag games!”

Yamaguchi bursts into laughter, light breathy giggles that should not belong to someone who just stopped a _Hydra_ with a _strawberry plant._ It’s a nice reminder, though. Yamaguchi is still the same person, still Tsukishima’s best friend that he’s known practically his whole life.

Just…with a few bonus features.

“Capture the flag? That’s your biggest issue with all of this?” Yamaguchi’s shakes his head, wiping amused tears from the corners of his eyes.

Tsukishima shifts his weight on his feet, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yes? Maybe? I don’t know, I’m still processing.”

“Take your time,” Yamaguchi pats him comfortingly on the back. “And while you’re processing, add sugar to that bowl of blueberries while I work on the lemon glaze, would you?”  
  
  


~*~

In his dream, Tsukishima is flying.

Not just floating or hovering, but actually flying. He can hear wings beating in his ears as he soars high above the desert.

The Arabian Desert. Tsukishima knows this place, though he isn’t sure how. It just looks like a bunch of sand to him. A vast land covered in sand and dotted with white tents and little moving specks that might be people.

Tsukishima flies lower, the hot, arid air whistling through his feathers. He soars over deep trenches dug into the sand, layers and layers deep, filled with people in khaki shorts with wide-brimmed hats crouching low to the ground with metal tools. There are long tables lined with dusty objects, valiantly trying to shine golden through the layers of time, gemstones cracked into little pieces, and bones being carefully cleaned with brushes.

In a smaller pit of sand off to the side, two figures sit with their heads ducked close together. One is clearly much smaller than any of the other people he’s seen, and the two of them have hair that matches the color of the sand. Tsukishima lands a few feet away and observes them.

The smaller one, a child with sun-pink cheeks and a pair of frames that are too big for his face and keep sliding down his nose, proudly holds up what looks like a yellow gemstone, the sunlight catching it and making it glow golden. A color that stirs something fond in Tsukishima’s chest.

“Lookit, Daddy!” The child excitedly thrusts the object into the older man’s hands. He chuckles, pushing his own wire-framed glasses up his nose and ruffles the boy’s blonde curls.

“Looks like you found yourself a piece of desert glass there, kiddo. Do you know how glass forms in the desert?” He sits back and pats one of his knees, allowing the child to clamber into his lap, looking at the piece of glass with starry eyes.

“How? How?”

“Always so curious, aren’t you?” The man chuckles. “Desert glass is formed when lightning strikes the sand. Sometimes, when certain minerals are heated up too much, they fuse together and make something totally new, like this.”

“Wow,” the little boy breathes. He looks up at his father with clear adoration in his eyes. “You’re the smartest person I’ve ever met, Daddy!”

The man’s face turns sad.

“Oh, I’ve met someone much smarter,” he says, and for some reason, Tsukishima feels a terrible, bone-deep sense of sadness as well.

The little boy’s eyes go wide with shock. “Even smarter than you?”

“Yes,” his dad nods. “She was.”

The boy wrinkles his nose. “A girl?”

The man laughs, and this, too, makes Tsukishima sad for some reason. It’s familiar and warm. Makes him feel safe.

“A woman,” he corrects. “A woman I loved very much. I’m sure you’ll be just as smart as her one day, Kei.”

The world suddenly drops out beneath him. Tsukishima is flying but the entire world is upside down - Not flying, then. Falling. Spiraling. Everything around him is just a blur of colors and sounds and faces.

When everything finally comes to a standstill around him again, he’s at the edge of a large body of water. The Persian Gulf, his mind supplies for him again, even though he’s not sure how he knows that.

And when he looks at his reflection in the water, he can see himself clearly for the first time.

He’s an owl. 

A large, tawny owl with deep, grey eyes.

“Tsukishima.” A woman’s voice comes from somewhere he can’t see. Again, familiar but not. Like he heard it once on the radio years ago, but hadn’t heard it since. “Tsukishima Kei.”

_Yes, I’m listening,_ Tsukishima wants to say. He feels like it’s important, whatever he’s about to hear.

“Tsukishima.”

_Yes._

“Tsukishima? Tsukishima, wake up!”

And that - That’s not the same woman’s voice? That’s not a woman’s voice at all.

Tsukishima shoots upright in bed, nearly head butting Lev, who was leaning over him very close to his face.

“What the - Lev, what are you doing in here?” Tsukishima snaps, holding a hand to his chest and feeling the erratic beating of his heart. Lev looks a little guilty, a little harried in the faint light coming from the moon.

“Sorry, I’m sorry! It’s just - Something’s on fire!”

Tsukishima shakes his head, quickly clearing out the rest of the sleepy fogginess.

“What’s on fire?” He demands.

“I don’t know! Something up on the deck, I think. There’s smoke and stuff everywhere!”

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Tsukishima turns back and reaches out, but his hand meets nothing but empty sheets. A coldness settles in his bones.

“Where’s Kuroo?”

“He’s already up there trying to put it out.” Lev wraps a hand around his wrist and tugs urgently. “Come on, we have to get up there and help him!”

Now thoroughly and jarringly awake, Tsukishima follows Lev up to the top deck, taking the steps two at a time, heart pounding in his chest. What could have happened? Did an engine blow? Was the whole ship in danger of bursting into flames at any moment? And why in Hades didn’t Kuroo wake him up?

Tsukishima’s bare feet skid to a halt when they emerge on the top deck, eyes immediately darting around, frantically trying to take in the situation.

“Alright, where is it? Lev, what’s on…fire?” Tsukishima finishes dumbly, cocking his head to the side and taking in the scene before him.

“Jeez, Lev! I told you to tell him there was a minor emergency to get him out of bed, not give my poor boyfriend a heat attack!” Kuroo chides, party hat sitting crooked on top of his wild hair. 

Next to him, Goshiki is wearing a matching hat, though it sits much more properly on his flat hair, and behind him, Atsumu is wearing two party hats on his head at once, sticking out like horns. Sakusa apparently couldn’t be roped into wearing one, but does have a pair of sunglasses lined with candles on his face. Yamaguchi is beaming in his own hat, carrying a plate with a big white cake on it.

“Wha -” Tsukishima blinks a few times, mouth falling open. “What’s going on?”

“I told you he would forget,” Kuroo says to no one in particular, shaking his hand fondly and coming over to Tsukishima to take his hand and pull him closer. As he approaches, Tsukishima can make out the words written in frosting on the cake Yamaguchi holds. Strawberry shortcake.

**Happy Birthday Tsukki!**

Tsukishima stares down at the cake, then back up at Kuroo.

“It’s my birthday?”

“September twenty-seventh, every year.”

Huh. He had forgotten his own birthday, hadn’t he? It wasn’t even like he wasn’t keeping track of the date or anything, of course he needed to know how much time was passing to make sure they were staying on schedule. But…he forgot. 

He really just looked at his birthday on a calendar and simply forgot. It was a wonder he even remembered to dress himself in the morning with everything that was going on in his head lately, to be fair.

“It’s my birthday,” Tsukishima repeats, not a question this time. Kuroo grins softly and pulls him in to press a kiss on his cheek.

“Happy birthday, sweetheart,” he whispers and Tsukishima’s insides turn to molten jelly.

“Happy birthday, Tsukishima!” Lev echoes, throwing his arms around Tsukishima from behind and lifting him into the air, nearly cracking his spine like a glow stick.

“Thanks,” Tsukishima groans, heart still a little too soft from Kuroo’s sweet words to be mean to the son of Hermes right now. Everyone else crowds around, patting him on the back and congratulating him on surviving another year - always a huge accomplishment for demigods.

Yamaguchi lights the candles and holds out the cake to Tsukishima.

“Make a wish!” His friend beams, freckles illuminated by the candlelight.

Tsukishima looks around at each of their faces, some of them not much older than him. Some of them not older than him at all. He doesn’t really believe in things as trivial as wishing on birthday candles, but he figures any little bit helps.

_Please, let us have another year. Let us all have at least one more year, and if I can be selfish on today of all days, let us have many more years after that._

“Was it a good one?” Kuroo asks long after the candles are all blown out, arm strong and warm around Tsukishima’s waist as they watch Yamaguchi try to teach Lev and Goshiki some sort of line dance, Goshiki stomping forcefully through the moves like he’s in a battle with them, and Lev stumbling all over his feet, while Sakusa furiously chases Atsumu around the deck for smearing cake icing all over his face.

“Yeah,” Tsukishima says, leaning into Kuroo’s side with a helpless grin. “I think it was.”

“I’m glad.” Kuroo tilts Tsukishima’s chin so he can press a gentle kiss to his lips. He lets it linger there, warm and soft, hand tightening around Tsukishima’s hip. Tsukishima inhales sharply and feels Kuroo’s resulting chuckle against his lips. “Do you want your present now?”

Tsukishima pulls back slightly, blinking owlishly. “Wasn’t this my present?”

Kuroo grins, thumb coming up to trace the corner of Tsukishima’s mouth. “You’re eighteen now, aren’t you?”

“Apparently so.”

“That means you’re officially an adult. I think that means you deserve an adult present.”

Tsukishima sucks in a gasp, knees going weak and base of his spine tingling when he realizes the implications of Kuroo’s words. He scans his boyfriend’s face, searching for any sign of joking, and finds nothing but dark eyes and a hungry mouth.

“Why in Hades did you make me sit through this stupid party, then?” Tsukishima huffs, grabbing Kuroo’s arm and all but dragging him away.

“Hey, it wasn’t stupid!” Kuroo laughs, easily letting Tsukishima pull him along. “You had fun, don’t lie.”

_I did,_ Tsukishima thinks.

“We could have been having a lot _more_ fun,” he insists, giving Kuroo a sharp tug.

“Alright, okay!” Kuroo pulls him to a stop just before the stairs, smile amused. His hands come up to hold Tsukishima’s face, and he kisses him again, slow and tender. “Just slow it down, okay?” He murmurs. “I want to take my time with you. We have all the time in the world.”

Ignoring the way Kuroo’s words make him shudder and his bare toes curl, Tsukishima says, “Actually, we really don’t.”

“Tonight we do, okay? Even if it’s just pretend.”

If Tsukishima was going to pretend any night could last forever, it would probably be this one. With the full moon shining bright above them, painting the world in a silvery glow, the sounds of his friends’ giddy laughter ringing through the air, and Kuroo’s hands cradling his face with all the love that a single person could hold.

Safe and happy.

No Gods. No war. Just this. Them. A bunch of teenagers who will never again be as young as they are tonight, who will wake up with the weight of the world resting on their shoulders once more come morning.

“Okay. Just for tonight. But I’m not doing anything with you until you take that stupid hat off.”  
  
  


~*~

Tsukishima wasn’t nervous when they said goodnight to their friends and were met with a chorus of catcalls (mostly from Atsumu, but Yamaguchi was definitely adding in a few of his own), and Tsukishima wasn’t nervous when Kuroo took his hand and led him through the dark hallways to his cabin, stopping every now and then to push Tsukishima up against the wall and steal kisses like he physically couldn't wait any longer.

He wasn’t nervous when Kuroo playfully wrapped his arms around his waist and picked him up, tossing him onto the bed with a bounce, and he wasn’t nervous when Kuroo turned the lights off and only the moonlight illuminated his dark silhouette as he crawled between Tsukishima’s legs like jungle cat stalking his prey.

He’s not nervous now, either, because it’s Kuroo of all people in the world sliding his hands beneath the fabric of Tsukishima’s shirt and curiously mapping the planes of his bare skin with his fingertips.

He is, however, if he’s being honest, a bit unsure of himself. Tsukishima hates going into situations unprepared, without doing his proper research and coming up with a plan of action. Going in blind. He felt the same way right before his first kiss with Futakuchi: Out of his depth.

It wasn’t like there were a lot of instruction manuals on how to kiss at Camp Half Blood, and there _definitely_ weren’t any books on what he and Kuroo are about to do now. He doesn’t have any experience, he doesn’t have any knowledge on the subject.

But he does know one thing; he trusts Kuroo more than anyone else in the world.

So no; he’s a child of Athena with no idea what he’s doing, but he’s not nervous at all.

Kuroo’s hands feel hot as brands as they trace over the bumps of his ribcage and the hollow spot in the middle of his chest and the soft skin of his abdomen right beneath his bellybutton. Every tender, sensitive patch of skin that makes Tsukishima’s head feel fuzzy and his breath quicken. Tsukishima likes to pretend that they really are brands, that when they face the world together again the next day, everyone - God, mortal, and monster - will be able to see that he’s Kuroo’s and Kuroo is his.

When Kuroo stops his exploration under the fabric of his shirt, instead insistently tugging at the hem of it with a questioning look on his face, Tsukishima doesn’t hesitate to nod, and Kuroo doesn’t hesitate to pull it up and over his head.

Part of Tsukishima immediately wants to cover himself back up. He knows it’s silly since Kuroo has seen him shirtless before, the countless times that they’ve gone swimming in the lake back at camp together, but he’s never been shirtless like this in _bed._ They hadn’t graduated to the undressing phase of making out before tonight. Even Kuroo, who slept shirtless nearly every night, always kept his shirt on right up until they were actually going to sleep.

But it’s hard, it’s quite literally impossible, to not want to be seen when someone as beautiful and powerful as Kuroo Tetsurou is looking at him like he’s the first sign of Ithaca and Kuroo is Odysseus who has been lost at sea for years.

Kuroo cups his cheek and leans down to kiss him softly, other hand reverently gliding across his naked skin. “You’re so gorgeous, Kei.”

Tsukishima feels himself flush, knows the pleased pink probably crawls all the way down his chest.

“Shut up and take yours off, too, Death Boy.”

Kuroo grins at him, sharp and a little dangerous, making Tsukishima feel that perfect mixture of safe and exhilarated that only he can. When he drags his own shirt over his head, Tsukishima’s mouth goes dry, eyes pulled like magnets to the tight, tan muscles that are revealed. He’s seen Kuroo’s body like this many times before, has fallen asleep and woken up with his head pillowed on that chest or those strong arms wrapped around his waist, but it never fails to make his stomach flip.

“If I -” Kuroo starts, biting his lip, gaze dragging down Tsukishima’s body. “If I do anything you don’t like, or you want to stop for any reason at all, just say the word, okay?”

Tsukishima huffs, fond and exasperated all at once. He wraps his legs around Kuroo’s waist and pulls him closer, forcing him to catch himself with his hands on either side of Tsukishima’s head, hovering just inches over him.

“I don’t know what ‘the word’ is, and I don’t care, because I’m definitely not going to be using it.”

He tangles his fingers in Kuroo’s hair, tugging his head down further so that he can slot their lips together in a frantic kiss. Kuroo groans and Tsukishima can feel the way his whole body trembles with the effort it’s taking to hold himself back.

“The word - by the way -” he manages through kisses. “Is ‘stop’, or - or ‘no’, or ‘Kuroo, get off of me before I - I kick your ass to - _mmph_ \- to Tartarus’.”

“Good to know. Now stop talking while I’m trying to kiss you.”

There isn’t a lot of talking after that.

Kuroo finally lets his body fall on top of Tsukishima’s, still holding himself up on his elbows a little bit so he doesn’t crush him completely, but far enough that the entire lines of their bodies are pressed together from collarbones to hipbones. Tsukishima sucks in a sharp breath, every nerve ending on his body feeling like it’s on fire when the bare skin of his meets Kuroo’s for the first time. He can feel Kuroo’s heart beating against his, can feel the smooth drag of the ridges of his muscles, can feel - oh.

Can feel Kuroo’s half-hard cock pressing against his hip.

They kiss for a while longer, Tsukishima slowly growing more and more comfortable with the connection of their bodies, melting into the sheets as Kuroo’s tongue traces the seam of his lips, the backs of his teeth, the corded line of his neck.

Kuroo shifts so that one of his legs is on the outside of Tsukishima’s, and the new position puts Kuroo’s thigh nestled between his legs, pressed right against the throbbing heat between them.

Tsukishima’s hips buck, grinding up against Kuroo’s thigh with a helpless whine.

He freezes when he realizes what he’s done, staring up at Kuroo with wide eyes and his face burning.

“Sorry!” He says quickly. Kuroo slowly pulls away from where he had been kissing a trail down his chest. His eyes are blown wider and darker than Tsukishima has ever seen them. He swallows hard. “Sorry,” he says again, more quietly. More breathlessly.

Kuroo tilts his head to the side, looking down at him with a burning stare. Then, slowly, deliberately slowly, he presses his thigh down into him again. Harder, this time.

“Fu - uh,” Tsukishima’s curse breaks off into a moan, entire body jumping like he’d been electrocuted. Kuroo beams like a little kid who just discovered a shiny new toy to play with.

“Why are you apologizing?” He asks, kissing the corner of Tsukishima’s mouth. “It makes you feel good, right?”

“I -” Tsukishima squeezes his eyes shut, bright neon fireworks exploding in the darkness as Kuroo continues grinding against him in purposeful, dirty little circles. He’s thought about what it would be like to do this with Kuroo, to have Kuroo touching him like this before, but he had no idea that it would unravel him so completely. To the point of speechlessness. 

It’s better than any dream he’s ever had.

“Tsukki,” Kuroo sing-songs, and the fact that he uses his nickname instead of Tsukishima’s actual name tips him off to the fact that he’s being teased. “If you don’t answer me, we’ll have to stop, won’t we? How will I know you like it if you don’t tell me?”

“Asshole,” Tsukishima grits out, his first full word in quite some time. “You know - It - I - It -”

“It,” Kuroo prompts, taking Tsukishima by the hips and guiding his movements so that they push and pull together with the perfect amount of friction. “It…feels good? Is that what you’re trying to say? Hm, love?”

Tsukishima gasps, back arching off the bed, head thrown back and straining, giving Kuroo the perfect access to lick more hot stripes up his neck. He’s losing track of everything around him, every sense going dull except for touch, touch, touch. All he can do is feel, the entire world dark except for the bright sparks the light up his body over every inch that Kuroo touches him.

He’s never felt anything like this before. Hot all over, from the soles of his feet to the backs of his knees, the base of his spine, all the way up his chest.

“Good,” he manages, voice sounding completely unlike his own. High-pitched and broken and in desperate need of salvation. Kuroo sighs happily, placing a kiss behind Tsukishima’s ear.

“So pretty, Kei,” he murmurs right into Tsukishima’s ear, making him shiver. “I’ve wanted to see you like this for so long. Wanted to know what you would look like and what you would sound like. It’s so much better than I ever imagined, sweetheart.”

It feels like there’s an uncontrollable tidal wave of pleasure racing through Tsukishima’s body. His hips start to thrust erratically up against Kuroo’s and his boyfriend groans, head dropping to Tsukishima’s chest.

“Baby, baby, baby,” he chants, hot breath ghosting across Tsukishima’s perked nipples, fingers tangling in his hair and tugging sharply. The wave inside of him finally crests, vision completely whiting out as his fingernails drag trenches across the span of Kuroo’s back and his lips spill the neediest, filthiest sounds that he could never even think of in his wildest dreams.

Kuroo shushes him gently, kisses Tsukishima’s cheeks and his forehead and his nose, letting Tsukishima use his body to ride out his high, holding him through the shudders that wrack his body.

Tsukishima isn’t sure how long it takes for him to come to again, but when he finally blinks back into focus, it’s to Kuroo propped up on his elbow above him, carding fingers through his hair and smiling softly, like Tsukishima was the best thing he’d ever seen in his life.

“That was…” Tsukishima croaks.

“Good?” Kuroo teases. Tsukishima smacks him on the arm and huffs.

“Adequate,” he says primly. Kuroo laughs.

“You’re telling me you’ve had _better_ orgasms than the one I just saw? Because that was truly a sight to behold. I think your eyeballs rolled back into your head for a second there.”

Tsukishima blushes and averts his eyes. “I haven’t had better. I haven’t had worse either.”

He gives Kuroo a few moments to let the meaning of his words sink in. Like a lightbulb suddenly going off in his head, Kuroo’s eyes go wide, lips parting in surprise.

“Wait… You’re telling me…”

“Yup.”

“That was your first… Ever?”

“Uh huh.”

“Not even, like, by yourself?”

Tsukishima raises an eyebrow. “I grew up in a cabin full of my half-siblings. When exactly do you think I would have had the chance to experiment?”

“Oh, wow.” Kuroo tilts his head thoughtfully. “I never even thought about it like that.”

“When do you ever think about anything?”

Kuroo quirks a crooked grin. “I’m definitely going to be thinking about that face you just made for a _very_ long time.”

Tsukishima blushes harder.

Kuroo’s fingers dip below the waistband of his shorts.

“So,” he starts conversationally, like Tsukishima didn’t just let out the most strangled, whiniest moan of all time. “What you’re telling me is that you’ve never touched yourself down here before?”

“I have,” Tsukishima says, immediately defensive. “A little,” he adds more quietly. He’s not sure how much those few times in the showers count, considering the fact that all he literally did was touch, cautious, nervous, tentative touches that never really amounted to anything at all.

“Hmmm,” Kuroo hums, fingers crawling their way lower. Tsukishima’s legs tremble, toes curling in anticipation. “I was going to ask you how you like it, but I guess you don’t even know yourself yet. Should we find out together?”

“I - But I just -”

“You’re already hard again, darling.”

As if to prove his point (like Tsukishima couldn’t already tell), Kuroo presses the heel of his palm against his erection, nothing but the sticky fabric of Tsukishima’s boxers between Kuroo’s hand and his bare skin.

_“Shit,_ oh, fucking shit.”

“Eloquent.”

“But what - I just - Wait -”

It took a Tsukishima a few dazed moments to figure out what had happened when Kuroo suddenly pulls his hand away completely.

“Are you okay?” Kuroo asks quickly. “Was it too much? We can wait, or we can stop completely. We don’t have to do anything else tonight if you don’t want to.”

Tsukishima blinks up at him, then sighs fondly, pulling him in for a kiss.

“No, I didn’t want you to wait because it didn’t feel good. I was just going to ask about…you.”

Kuroo’s eyebrows furrow adorably. “What about me?”

Tsukishima blushes and gestures to the obvious tent in his boyfriend’s shorts.

“Oh, that.” Kuroo laughs sheepishly. “It’s your present, Kei. I was just worried about taking care of you.”

A terrible fondness blossoms in the cage of Tsukishima’s chest. Gods, he really would stop the world turning on its axis for Kuroo Tetsurou.

With a boldness he didn’t know he had in him (in the bedroom, at least), Tsukishima hooks his own fingers into the waistband of Kuroo’s pants, reveling in the little gasp it earns him.

“You really think I’ll properly be able to enjoy my present knowing that my boyfriend is neglecting himself for me, hm?”

“Trust me,” Kuroo lets out a breathless laugh, eyes darting down to where Tsukishima’s slender fingers are brushing against the skin beneath his waistband. “I am definitely enjoying this just as much as you are. Maybe even more.”

“Tetsurou,” Tsukishima huffs impatiently. “I want…” He tilts his chin up so that his lips and Kuroo’s just barely touch, lowering his voice to something quiet and vulnerably honest. “I want to know what you look like, too. What you sound like. You’re not the only one who’s thought about this. Please?”

Kuroo shudders, his shaky exhale fanning across Tsukishima’s face.

“Can’t say no to you on your birthday, can I?”

“You can’t say no to me ever.”

“Got that right,” Kuroo laughs. He kisses Tsukishima sweetly and whispers into his mouth, “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Tsukishima breathes back.

It’s the last coherent sentence he’s able to form for a very long time, because immediately following that, Kuroo pushes both of their pants and underwear down to their knees, and takes them both together in his hand.  
  
  


~*~

“What are you thinking about?” Kuroo props his head up in his hand, elbow resting on the bed. His hair hangs in slightly sweaty strands across his forehead and Tsukishima reaches up to push them out of his face.

“How I’m going to one-up you for your birthday.”

“Mmmm,” he waggles his eyebrows. “I can’t wait.”

“If we’re still alive by then.”

Groaning, Kuroo flops onto his back, throwing an arm over his face. “You really know how to kill a mood, babe.”

“It’s about to get worse.” One of Tsukishima’s hands comes up to anxiously rub at the center of his chest, an empty, cold feeling suddenly filling him.

Face scrunched up in concern, Kuroo sits up fully, tugging Tsukishima along with him, pulling him into the space between his legs and wrapping his arms around his waist. Tsukishima relaxes into it, feeling some of the dread already leaving his body. Kuroo really does always know what he needs better than even he does.

“What’s on your mind?” He murmurs, chin resting on Tsukishima’s shoulder. Tsukishima takes a deep, calming breath.

“I remembered.”

“Remembered what?” He can’t see Kuroo’s face, but he can hear the confusion in his voice.

“That night, before Morpheus. When you found me up on the deck and I -” _Almost killed you._ “I told you I saw someone, but I couldn’t remember who it was. It was the truth, at the time, but when we were in the Dream Realm, and I was talking to Morpheus… I remembered.”

Kuroo’s arms tighten around him reflexively.

“Say it,” he encourages gently. Tsukishima has a feeling he already knows the answer.

“Thanatos.”

The name hangs heavy between them.

“Oh, Kei,” Kuroo breathes.

“I’m -” Tsukishima chokes. “I’m really afraid.” It feels like huge weight lifts itself off his chest once the words are spoken aloud, and Tsukishima sucks in a deep breath. “I am so, so fucking afraid,” he says again, because it feels so freeing to finally admit it. To stop pretending that he has everything under control and any fucking idea what he’s doing.

Kuroo turns his face towards Tsukishima’s, pressing his forehead to his temple and laughing.

“Well, of course you are! Gods, Tsukki, I’d be more worried if you _weren’t_ scared! The God of Death himself tried to kill you and failed. You have more of a right than any of the rest of us to be afraid.”

Tsukishima frowns, turning to face Kuroo.

“You knew?”

“Your poker face is impressive, babe, but it’s not that good.”

_“I_ didn’t even realize that I was afraid of him until Morpheus told me that he was literally my waking nightmare!”

“That’s because fear is a feeling, and you are a man of intellect and, uh, brain stuff.”

“Brain stuff?” Tsukishima repeats dryly.

“Mhm.” Kuroo kisses his temple. “That’s the best I can come up with right now. I’m pretty sure my own brain is still ninety-nine percent mush from our dicks touching.”

“Good to know you’re zero percent useful after sex,” Tsukishima huffs, cheeks coloring.

“Sorry,” Kuroo laughs, tightening his arms when Tsukishima petulantly tries to pull away, crushing Tsukishima into the safe cage of his broad chest. Tsukishima lets his head fall back onto Kuroo’s shoulder, turning his face into his neck and inhaling the musky, familiar scent. 

“We’re all scared, you know?” Kuroo says quietly. “We’re just kids, Kei. We’re not soldiers.”

Tsukishima closes his eyes and intertwines his fingers with Kuroo’s.

“It doesn’t feel that way.”

Kuroo sighs and squeezes his hand.

“I know, love. I know. What can I do to make it better?”

_Stay right here with me and never leave._

“This.” Tsukishima kisses the sharp cut of his jaw and Kuroo holds him tighter. “This is good enough.”

“It won’t be forever,” Kuroo promises. “Less than a year left, and then you and I can really start our lives together.”

Less than a year. He can do this. He can do anything with Kuroo by his side.

“Anything else you wanna talk about?”

Tsukishima thinks about his dream. The owl and the little boy with the sandy blonde curls.

“No,” he says, because he’s not ready to talk about that. Not yet. “That’s all for me. Anything you wanna talk about?”

Kuroo hums thoughtfully, hands drifting lower on Tsukishima’s abdomen, touch light and teasing, making his stomach muscles clench in anticipation.

“If body language counts, then yes. There are a _lot_ more things I have to discuss with you.”

And there are tidal waves crashing around them and the world is crumbling to pieces and Tsukishima just laughs and lets Kuroo roll him onto his back and kiss every inch of his skin until the two of them are burning much fiercer and much brighter than any of the darkness in their minds.  
  
  


~*~

Luckily for whoever is knocking on his door at this hour of the morning, Tsukishima is already awake, so the probability of him biting their head off is slightly lower than usual.

He looks down at where Kuroo is wrapped around his waist, lips pressed to his sternum, and smiles. His skin still tingles with the memory of everything they did together last night. He’s sure it’s not just memories painted across his neck and chest, either. He definitely got the brands he wanted.

Careful not to wake him, Tsukishima slides out of bed and pulls on a black t-shirt that he thinks must be Kuroo’s from the way it hangs off his frame and nearly covers his boxers. He opens the door a crack.

“Um. Hi.” Goshiki raises his hand in a greeting. His eyes drift down to Tsukishima’s exposed and probably mottled purple collarbone, then quickly back up again, tips of his ears turning red. Tsukishima arches an unamused eyebrow, but Goshiki just jerks his chin and gestures for Tsukishima to join him in the hall. With a sigh, he does, closing the door gently behind him.

“Something you need?” Tsukishima asks, words devolving into a yawn that he covers with the back of his hand. He’s definitely going right back to sleep after whatever this is is over.

“I wanted to thank you.”

Tsukishima pauses, mid-yawn.

“Oh, um. You’re welcome?”

“I mean it,” Goshiki says, eyes blazing. “For everything you said and… You gave me the opportunity to face my greatest fear and prove that I’m stronger than it. You gave me the chance to kill a _God!_ I really owe you, Tsukishima.”

“Just keep killing Gods for me and we can call it even, okay?” Tsukishima offers, waving a dismissive hand, turning to go back into his cabin.

“No,” Goshiki says firmly, stopping him in his tracks with the force behind that one word. “I _really_ owe you. I told you all I needed was someone to give me a chance - to _believe_ in me, and you did that. My dad himself even came by last night just to tell me how proud of me he was.”

“Well that was very nice of -” Tsukishima stops, hand freezing in place where he was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “I’m sorry did you just say your dad came by? Here? Ares was _here?”_ His voice raises shrilly at the end.

How in Hades did he miss that one?

Goshiki nods. “Apparently, Zeus has forbidden any of the Gods of Olympus to make a direct move against Thanatos or his followers, but he didn’t say anything about helping us. My dad gave me something to give to you.”

From behind his back, Goshiki holds out a long, golden sword. It’s beautiful, obviously made by an expert craftsman - maybe even Hephaestus himself? - and seems to glow in the early morning light.

“Oh, wow.” Tsukishima blinks. “It’s really gorgeous, but I’m not much of a swordsman. Maybe you should just hang on to it?” He suggests sheepishly. He’s not used to being offered gifts from Gods, and he’s a bit uncomfortable with the entire situation. From Goshiki’s almost embarrassingly earnest appreciation to the sword form Ares, he has no idea how to act right now.

“It’s not just a regular sword, Tsukishima,” Goshiki huffs, pronouncing each syllable of Tsukishima’s name very precisely. “It’s one of the strongest weapons in existence, the deadliest blade ever created. It can cut through anything.”

Tsukishima inhales sharply. 

“It can kill a God.”

Goshiki nods. “It can kill a God,” he confirms. “But there’s a catch.”

“Of course there is.” Tsukishima rolls his eyes. Why would anything in his life ever be that simple?

“It only has one use.”

Tsukishima blinks. “Pardon?”

“You have to save this weapon for the moment you need it the most.” Goshiki shoves the hilt of the sword into Tsukishima’s hand, closing his fingers around it securely. His stare burns. “You can’t use it until it’s time to kill Thanatos. Only you can do it.”

Tsukishima swallows hard, the sword suddenly feeling much heavier in his hand.

No pressure, then.  
  
  



	2. winter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakusa doesn’t just have storms in his eyes anymore. Sakusa is the storm itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i promised more action, romance, and sakuatsu,,,, i give u more action, romance, and sakuatsu :')
> 
> enjoy!!
> 
> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/oiiblondie)  
> [chapter moodboard](https://twitter.com/oiiblondie/status/1320516252968902656?s=20)

  
  
  
Tsukishima misses a lot of things from Camp Half Blood, but he would have to be _severely_ hard-pressed with nostalgia to miss Hinata and Kageyama’s bickering.

“Please,” he pushes his glasses up his forehead and massages the bridge of his nose. There’s definitely a migraine coming on. “Can you two stop arguing for three seconds so we can get this call over with and all get back to our lives?”

As the two people left in charge of organizing the campers and preparing Camp Half Blood’s defense for the potential upcoming war, and the person leading the quest to try and stop said war, Tsukishima had Iris calls with Hinata and Kageyama every few weeks so they could all keep each other in the loop on any major updates. Tsukishima had already informed them about defeating Morpheus, as well as the weapon gifted to him by Ares, and it’s supposed to be their turn to share.

It would probably be easier for them to do so without Kageyama’s elbow crushing Hinata’s windpipe.

“Hey!” Tsukishima barks when neither of them pay attention to him. “Some of us actually have things to do today, you know.” 

His eyes drift to the sword just barely peeking out from his closet and he sighs. He’s been working on his swordsmanship a little bit every day since getting the God-killing weapon, but Tendou would be laughing his ass off if he saw how pitiful Tsukishima’s skills with a sword have gotten since he’s grown so accustomed to using his spear, Philia. 

There’s a higher probability of him accidentally impaling himself on the damn thing than managing to get a hit in on Thanatos at this point.

Still, Kuroo, Sakusa, Goshiki, and even Atsumu have been taking turns training him to get better with it. Only Atsumu has called him a ‘hopeless case’ so far. Oddly enough, Tsukishima prefers his blunt honesty over the thinly veiled sympathetic looks that the others give him.

Reluctantly, Kageyama releases Hinata’s throat, the son of Apollo giving him a withering glare once he’s free.

“Things here are fine,” Kageyama delivers in the same clipped, even tone that he says everything in. He could be reporting that camp had burned to the ground, and he would probably sound the exact same saying it. “The Hephaestus cabin has just finished setting all the traps on the West side of the hill, and Ennoshita and the other Apollo kids have started stockpiling medical supplies. We sent Nishinoya to New Rome to liaison with Camp Jupiter, as well. If it comes down to it, we want to know if the Romans would be willing to send aid and help protect Camp Half Blood with us.”

Tsukishima’s heart lurches painfully. “Noya’s going to New Rome?”

Gods, he wishes he could trade places with Nishinoya right now. He misses Sugawara and Akaashi more than words can say. Would do anything to be subjected to one of Bokuto’s spine-cracking hugs, and hear Oikawa’s summer rain laughter.

It’s a dark, guilty thought, but sometimes Tsukishima wishes he had never signed up to save the world. He wishes he didn’t live in a world that needed saving from a couple of teenage demigods because the Gods themselves couldn’t be bothered to take care of it. Typical.

“Oh!” Hinata pipes up, suddenly ducking out of view and rummaging around for something. “That reminds me. A letter from New Rome University came for you a few days ago.” He waggles his eyebrows and dangles an envelope with a deep purple ‘SPQR’ crest on it from his fingers tantalizingly.

Tsukishima’s heart lurches again, for entirely different reasons.

Last summer was one of the busiest and most stressful few months of his life. It started with the quest to return Cerberus home to the Underworld, which turned into a face-off with the God of Death, which _then_ turned into a quest to stop a war between the Gods and save the world, and _on top_ of all of that, Tsukishima had to worry about studying for the GRE and SAT so he could apply to go to New Rome University with Kuroo next Fall.

He managed to squeeze in both tests before they left on the _Argo II_ and had his scores sent straight to NRU without even seeing them himself first. Kuroo assured him that they were probably the best scores the admissions people would ever see and he would be instantly accepted, but as usual, Tsukishima never really expected anything in his life to be that easy.

“Do you want us to open it for you and tell you what it says?” Hinata offers.

“No.”

Hinata excitedly starts to tear into one of the corners before Tsukishima’s response seem to register with him. He stops, one finger tucked beneath the flap of the envelope, and whines, “What? Why not? Aren’t you _dying_ to know?”

“Of course I am, you imbecile!” Tsukishima snaps.

“Then let me open it!” Hinata retorts, starting to tear into it once again. Before Tsukishima can even yell at him, Kageyama plucks the letter out of the shorter boy’s hands and holds it high above his head. Hinata looks up at it and huffs, puffing out his cheeks petulantly.

Tsukishima knows Hinata could easily jump for it - he’s seen the redhead reach incredible heights before - but he doesn’t make a move for it again.

“He doesn’t want to know because he can’t afford the distraction,” Kageyama says. “Obviously.”

Hinata still looks confused, but even through the misty Iris call, Tsukishima can feel Kageyama’s knowing gaze. It makes sense that he would come to the same conclusion as Tsukishima, given he was the most strategic of all the Ares kids. He wasn’t quite as smart as a child of Athena, but one of the scariest things about Kageyama was how dangerously close he was. The strength of an Ares kid with the smarts of an Athena kid.

Good thing he was also such a complete moron, to balance the rest of him out.

But this time, Tsukishima can admit it: Kageyama is right.

It doesn’t matter what that letter says, because either way, it’ll only distract Tsukishima from the task at hand. If he didn’t get in, he’ll be crushed and won’t be able to stop thinking of what he’s going to do next, how he and Kuroo are going to stay together, what he did that wasn’t good enough for them. And if he did get in? Well, that might be even worse, because all Tsukishima will be able to think about is moving across the country with Kuroo and getting an apartment with Kuroo and meeting for lunch between classes with Kuroo and - 

And none of them can afford that right now.

“Obviously,” Hinata repeats, crossing his arms over his chest and nodding very seriously. “I already knew that! I was just testing him. Congrats, Saltyshima, you passed!”

“I’m thrilled,” Tsukishima deadpans. Kageyama cuffs Hinata on the back of the head, and Tsukishima can already see the way it’s going to pan out into another scuffle that’ll last anywhere between five and twenty minutes. He really doesn’t feel like sticking around for that. “Are we done here?”

After another few minutes of muffled cursing and grappling for the upper hand, Kageyama and Hinata eventually declare that they have no further information for Tsukishima, thus ending the conversation, and Tsukishima’s suffering along with it.

He flops back onto his pillows, exhaling tiredly. The day has barely even started, but the freak duo have a tendency to drain Tsukishima of all of his life force over the course of just one call. His window is propped open just a crack, and he closes his eyes, feeling the salty breeze against his bare skin. Kageyama and Hinata could only see him from the waist up on their Iris call, so he hadn’t bothered putting on pants after he woke up, leaving his long legs sprawled out on top of the sheets.

“Hey, babe, we’ve kinda got a situation - oh.” Kuroo stops short when he enters the room and Tsukishima opens his eyes just in time to see the look of surprise and awe on his face. “Oh,” he repeats, voice quieter as he closes the door behind him and sits down at the foot of the bed. “We’ve definitely got a situation now.”

Tsukishima blushes, a fuzzy, pleasant feeling in his chest as Kuroo grabs him gently by one ankle and lifts his leg to his lips to press a kiss to the delicate, knobby bone there. The act is so intimate and tender, it makes Tsukishima’s heart leap, his own hand reaching down to tangle in Kuroo’s hair.

“Wasn’t there something you came here to tell me?” Tsukishima huffs fondly. Kuroo hums distractedly, kissing his way further up Tsukishima’s bare leg, sending shivers down his spine.

“Mmmmm, nothing that can’t wait a few more minutes.”

Tsukishima snorts a laugh and kicks him lightly in the shoulder.

“You’re a terrible second-in-command. Way too easily distracted.”

Kuroo looks up at him incredulously, pulling his lips away from the inside of Tsukishima’s knee like the act causes him physical pain.

“I mean, can you blame me?” Another quick kiss to the knee. “You were practically laying yourself out like a meal, just waiting for me to come find you.”

“I was staving off the migraine my Iris call with Kageyama and Hinata was causing me, actually,” Tsukishima answers honestly. It surprises a puff of laughter from Kuroo, who gives his leg one last parting kiss before dropping it back onto the bed, settling on his knees between them.

“Oh? What did those two want? Any important news from camp?” He asks, and just like that, the moment has passed. 

Tsukishima mourns it, but only briefly. Since his birthday, he and Kuroo have definitely spent many more nights giving repeat performances, tying new things, and poking and prodding at boundaries until they gave way. But during the day at least, they both know that saving the world comes first, and romance comes in whatever cracks they can squeeze it into.

Tsukishima thinks of the letter in Hinata’s tiny little gremlin hands that potentially held the fate of his and Kuroo’s future together and shrugs as nonchalantly as he can.

“Might get some help from the Romans if it comes down to it. Nothing else really worth repeating. I think they mostly just called because they ran out of people to annoy back at camp.”

Kuroo laughs again, and stands, holding out a hand to pull Tsukishima up, too.

“Well, as long as you're already on a roll of getting annoyed by people, there’s something you should probably come see.”

Without having to hear another word, Tsukishima is almost one hundred percent sure he knows exactly who is going to be at the root of his next migraine.  
  
  


~*~

“Apparently,” Atsumu says, as they all stand around staring at the obliterated remains of Sakusa’s cabin door, “Omi does not appreciate unexpected guests to his quarters.”

“I can’t imagine anyone would if it were _you,”_ Tsukishima snaps, turning to glare at Atsumu. The son of Hermes just flashes him a winning smile, tongue poking between his teeth. Kuroo squeezes one of his shoulders, pressing his thumb into his spine with a soothing pressure that alleviates some of Tsukishima’s anger.

Some of it.

“I need a new door,” Sakusa says calmly.

Yeah, no shit. He blew the last one to literal smithereens, nothing but splinters left of it now. Tsukishima isn’t sure if he’s relieved or disappointed that he missed whatever spectacular display of demigod-ly strength Sakusa displayed to lead to this. He’s sure the look on Atsumu’s face was priceless.

“I don’t think we have any spare doors laying around.” Tsukishima glances over at Kuroo, who shakes his head in agreement. It wasn’t exactly on their packing list.

“Well, you know, Omi,” Atsumu starts innocently, which is already suspicious in itself. “If you need somewhere to stay that has a door, _my_ cabin -”

“I need a new door,” Sakusa repeats, cutting the son of Hermes off with an icy voice. He fixes Tsukishima with his bone-chilling stare, eyes dark and stormy, the air around him crackling with staticky power. “Now.”

Tsukishima blinks a few times. Glances back at Kuroo again, who this time nods his head frantically.

He seems to have come to the same conclusion Tsukishima has: The son of Poseidon is the last person they want to piss off while stranded in the middle of the ocean.

“Okay, yup, let’s go get you a new door.”  
  
  


~*~

They have Lev bring them in to the nearest port, which ends up being some small town on the Southern tip of Greenland that makes Tsukishima feel like he’s saying a dirty word when he tries to pronounce it. It’s a port town, so Tsukishima is confident that there will be some sort of hardware store in town that they can buy some wood to make a new door for Sakusa’s cabin with. Sakusa demands that Atsumu come with him to help carry the wood as punishment, and Tsukishima begrudgingly agrees to tag along to make sure that Sakusa doesn’t kill Atsumu.

Kuroo comes along to make sure that Tsukishima doesn’t help Sakusa kill Atsumu.

It’s the makings of an extremely interesting field trip.

Lev, Yamaguchi, and Goshiki stay back to watch the ship and maybe haggle with some fish merchants while they’re gone. Tsukishima isn’t sure what they’re expecting to get for a few golden drachma, but as long as they don’t get arrested for anything, he doesn’t really care.

It’s a beautiful place, and even though Tsukishima is still shivering in the brisk Northern air, even in his heavy knit sweater, he can’t help but marvel at it. Greenland was originally settled by Denmark, leaving most of its major towns still modeled after their architectural style: Short, brightly colored buildings in reds and blues and yellows, with low, dark-colored roofs and white-bordered square windows. There are rolling hills with lush, green grass, though Tsukishima knows it’ll be covered completely in snow any day now with their climate.

“Hey, uh, Kei?” Atsumu asks as they wander further from the docks and into the town, the buildings closer together, but still nowhere near crowded.

“What?” Tsukishima responds cautiously.

“Do you know…Greenlandish?”

“Greenlandic,” Tsukishima corrects instinctively. “And no, why?”

Atsumu points up at the signs on the storefronts around them, with are…clearly not written in English. Or even Ancient Greek, unfortunately, which makes it out of any of their wheelhouses. Tsukishima knows Spanish and a bit of French, simply as a side effect of living with Akaashi, who’s a huge linguistics nerd, but he’s not sure even Akaashi took the time to study Greenlandic.

“Then how are we supposed to know when we find a hardware store?”

“I don’t know, Atsumu!” Tsukishima throws his hands up in frustration, spinning on the son of Hermes and pointing an accusing finger in his face. “Maybe you should have thought about that _before_ you -”

“Okay, okay.” Kuroo steps between them calmly. Tsukishima must have had his intentions to wring Atsumu’s neck written all over his face. He takes Tsukishima’s hand and carefully lowers it. “I’ll go see if I can find a local who speaks English and ask them to point us in the right direction. Does that work for everyone?”

Tsukishima crosses his arms and glares at Atsumu. The son of Hermes shoots him an infuriating grin and then _winks._ The second Kuroo is out of earshot, he goes and opens his stupid mouth again.

“Looks like your Hellhound is the one who’s got _you_ on a leash, huh Kei?”

“THAT’S IT!” 

Tsukishima reaches for his spear tucked away in his backpack, but he’s stopped by a strong, cool grip on his wrist. It’s a sharp contrast to the way his blood is pounding hot in his veins while Atsumu cracks up at his own joke. Sakusa just shakes his head, dropping Tsukishima’s hand and walking over to give Atsumu a swift smack to the back of the head.

That does manage to make Tsukishima smile.

“Ouch, Omi! Whose side are you on anyways?” Atsumu complains.

“You and I are the reason we’re all even here. Let’s not make things any more difficult than we already have for everyone else.”

Atsumu rubs at the back of his head, a slow smile spreading across his face.

“Hm. I know you were just telling me off and whatnot, but I really like it when you talk about us like a ‘we’.”

Tsukishima watches as Sakusa’s brain processes Atsumu’s words, color steadily filling his face and eyebrow ticking in irritation.

He smacks Atsumu again, harder this time, before stalking off to join Kuroo in trying to converse through charades with some locals. With an almost morbid curiosity, Tsukishima takes in Atsumu’s expression as he watches Sakusa walk away. The almost helpless uptick at the corners of his mouth, the fondness in his eyes.

If he didn’t know any better, he might actually say there was some genuine emotion there.

Then, Atsumu sighs wistfully, a dreamy look on his face as he throws an arm around Tsukishima’s shoulders.

“Have you ever seen an ass so perfect before in your life?”

Tsukishima sighs, disappointed, but not surprised.

“You amaze me,” he informs the other boy, trying to wrestle Atsumu’s arm off of him.

“Thank you.” Atsumu grins, completely unfazed. He easily pulls Tsukishima nearly into a headlock, ruffling his hair like an annoying older brother.

Gross. Tsukishima has plenty of those already, thank you very much.

Though none that are anything like Miya Atsumu. _Thankfully._

“Get off, you jerk!” A little bit of a whine slips into Tsukishima’s voice. It’s not his fault, Atsumu has a special way of bringing out the most immature side of people.

“Be nice to me and maybe I will,” Atsumu sing-songs.

“I’d rather eat - Ew! Did you just put your finger in my ear? Why is it _wet?”_ Tsukishima doubles his efforts, squirming in Atsumu’s hold and trying to knee him in the groin. Tendou didn’t raise him to be some helpless wimp, and he gets a few good hits in, feeling a thrill of victory when Atsumu grunts and doubles over in pain, pulling Tsukishima’s head down with him and causing a strain in his neck.

“Guys! Come on, we know where the hardware store is!” Kuroo waves them over, not even batting an eye at their strange position. A few of the locals are definitely giving them weird looks, though. It’s a small town, and Tsukishima and Atsumu are probably causing quite the scene. Tsukishima’s vision is slightly distorted due to his glasses getting knocked askew on his face, but he can make out Sakusa rolling his eyes with an almost amused look on his face.

Tsukishima huffs and finally shoves Atsumu off of him. Atsumu flicks him in the forehead. Tsukishima punches him in the shoulder.

They walk it off together.  
  
  


~*~

The clerk at the hardware store is a big, burly man with a thick blonde beard, watery blue eyes, and the disposition of a mouse being hunted by a lion. Sakusa and Tsukishima explain what they’re looking for while Atsumu and Kuroo crawl around squeezing themselves into tiny playhouses clearly made for children. So, perfect for them, really.

“Oh, ah, yes, of course, of course!” The clerk stammers in a thick accent. “We have exactly what you’re looking for, of course! Just wait right here, and I’ll have one of my associates come and help you.” With that, he hurries away. Tsukishima and Sakusa share a look and shrug. He’s certainly not the weirdest person they’ve ever met, and definitely the least of their problems.

“Are you two quite finished?” Tsukishima rolls his eyes when Kuroo and Atsumu both poke their heads out of little windows in response to his question. Sakusa gives the tiny house a solid kick, startling both of them into scrambling out of it.

“You guys are no fun,” Atsumu complains, rubbing his head which he must have banged on the low ceiling.

Kuroo slings an arm around Tsukishima’s shoulders and waggles his eyebrows. _“I_ think Tsukki is plenty of fun.”

Shaking his head, Atsumu sighs and looks at Kuroo disappointedly. “I thought we were having a moment there, man. I thought you and me were on the same team.”

Kuroo laughs and tugs Tsukishima closer, making him blush when he places an obviously possessive kiss to the top of his head. “Nah, man, I’m always on Tsukki’s team. You’ll understand it, too, one day. Unless you keep scaring people off with your personality, that is.”

“Ha ha.” Atsumu fakes a laugh and rolls his eyes, his gaze catching on Sakusa for a moment with something akin to longing before quickly looking away.

Huh. Interesting.

“Excuse me,” a woman’s voice interrupts Tsukishima’s train of thought. Not that he was planning on wasting too many brain cells trying to decipher Atsumu’s weird courting behaviors, anyways. 

He turns and finds a tall woman, with red-painted lips pulled into a pleasant smile, a silky green scarf wrapped around her head, and a pair of dark-tinted sunglasses on her face. Her store name tag reads ‘Em’ in printed letters, with braille underneath. Tsukishima silently begs Atsumu not to say something accidentally offensive about her being blind, but surprisingly he doesn’t have anything to worry about.

“I hear you boys are here looking for some lumber?” She continues.

“Yes, ma’am, that would be us.” Atsumu is the one who answers, stepping forward to carefully take her hand without startling her, his voice transforming into some sort of silky drawl that Tsukishima has never heard come out of his mouth before. He shoots Kuroo an incredulous look, but his boyfriend shrugs, just as confused. Even Sakusa looks completely taken aback.

Atsumu is from the South. At least, Tsukishima assumes that he is. Atsumu has never explicitly told him so, and Tsukishima has never explicitly asked, but sometimes when he gets mad, the son of Hermes has a tendency to let his words run together and tumble all over each other.

This sounds nothing like that, however. This time, Atsumu’s vowels are melting and rolling off his tongue like like sticky sap dripping down tree bark.

It’s almost…nice? A word Tsukishima never thought he would associate with Miya Atsumu.

“Perfect,” Em’s smile stretches even wider and Atsumu releases her hand. “You can go ahead and follow me and I’ll take you back to our building supplies section.”

As they follow her further into the back of the store, Tsukishima can’t help but whisper to Atsumu under his breath, “What in Hades was that all about?”

“What?” Atsumu asks innocently. “Everyone trusts a good Southern boy.”

And, well. Tsukishima can’t argue with that.

Em stops walking in what appears to be the garden section, potted plants and little benches, fountains and stone statues lining the aisles. She turns back to them with her bright smile.

“We just got a new shipment in today so the lumber section is pretty tight. It would be best if only one of you came with me.”

The group share a look. It’s never ideal to split up on a quest, but as long as they’re all in the building within earshot of each other, there isn’t much risk.

“Not a problem,” Atsumu starts in his smooth drawl again. “I’d be happy to -”

As quickly and as accurately as a viper striking, Em’s hand shoots out and grabs Sakusa by the wrist, her smile still fixed perfectly in place. She apparently has excellent reflexes for a blind woman.

“You’ll do,” she tells Sakusa. Tsukishima can’t tell how tightly she’s gripping him, but he doesn’t make a move to escape her hold. He looks over at the rest of them and shrugs, before following Em back into the store.

“Weird lady,” Atsumu comments. He looks a little put off by the whole situation, but not half a second later, he’s distracted by a fountain shaped to look like Cupid is peeing into it.

“Come on, let’s go look at the statues.” Kuroo reaches out for Tsukishima’s hand, winding their fingers together like they’re going on a romantic stroll through the park together rather than perusing the garden décor at a hardware store. It’s a bit ridiculous, but Tsukishima plays along. It’s nice to pretend, in the little pockets of time that they can manage, that they’re just a regular couple who go on regular couples dates instead of quests to save the world together.

(Though, Tsukishima wouldn’t really trade his world-saving relationship for anything.)

All of the statues are made with incredible craftsmanship, detailed down to the last wrinkle in the old couple’s faces, and the ruffles of the little girl’s pleated skirt. Tsukishima trails fingers across their faces as he looks at them, feeling each and every eyelash and the bridges of their noses, all so perfectly unique. The only flaw Tsukishima can find is the eyes. In each and every statue their expressions are…eerie. Lifeless. Haunted. Not a single smile among them.

Artistic decision, he reasons.

What a fool he had been.

He loses Kuroo for a few minutes to a collection of birdbaths carved to look like they have dragon scales, and continues to peruse the statues without him. However, when he gets to the end of the aisle, he stops short, blinking rapidly to try and make sense of what’s in front of him.

It’s a statue of a girl, maybe a few years younger than Tsukishima himself. Her hair is plaited into two braids down her back, hands balled into fists and wearing cut-off denim shorts. Her mouth is slightly parted, like she was about to say something. Or maybe scream.

That’s not the part that makes Tsukishima’s heart leap into his throat, though.

“Kuroo,” he calls, and he can hear the way his voice slightly shakes. Barely a moment later, Kuroo is by his side again, a comforting hand placed instinctively at his back.

“What? What’s wrong?” He asks quickly, but his concerned expression changes when he sees what Tsukishima is looking at. “Oh, cool! This one has a Camp Half Blood t-shirt on!”

Tsukishima swallows hard, reaching out a hand to trace over the camp crest on the front of the shirt.

“It’s an old design,” he murmurs, almost to himself. “Decades old, at least.”

“Hm. So it’s vintage?”

“Kuroo,” Tsukishima says again, more slowly, as all of the facts of the situation solidify horrifyingly in his mind. “Who are the only ones that know about Camp Half Blood’s existence?”

This time, there’s a much longer pause before Kuroo speaks again. Tsukishima can feel his pulse pounding in his ears, hot and erratic.

“Demigods,” Kuroo starts hesitantly. “Their parents, and… And…”

“And monsters.” Tsukishima finishes in a small voice.

Kuroo’s hand that was resting on his back twists to grip the fabric of his shirt tightly. Tsukishima doesn’t know which one of them he’s trying to ground. “Please tell me you’re not saying what I think you’re saying.”

“I think this used to be a real, live Camp Half Blood demigod,” Tsukishima continues, words all coming out in a rush now. He turns to look at Kuroo, their terrified gazes meeting. “And I think we’re about to be next.”

 _“Shit,”_ Kuroo breathes. “It’s her.”

Neither of them says her name out loud. They don’t have to.

It all makes sense now. The timid demeanor of the store clerk, how easily a blind woman had grabbed Sakusa’s wrist without missing, the intricate details on all of the statues’ haunted faces. Of course they weren’t smiling. They had just realized they were moments away from death.

“We have to warn Atsumu and Sakusa.”

Without waiting for Kuroo’s response and without a single fully formed plan in his head, Tsukishima grabs his hand and they take off at a run towards where they had last seen Atsumu. It’s not like him to rush into things like this, but maybe it’s Goshiki rubbing off on him, or the fact that his team - his _friends_ \- are in danger, that has him acting before thinking.

“Hey,” Kuroo squeezes his hand. Tsukishima’s frenzied panic is probably palpable through his skin. “We’ll figure this out, alright? We always do. Look,” he points towards the fountains. “There’s Atsumu now, unfortunately alive and well. That’s three out of four accounted for.”

Three out of four. Not good enough.

Tsukishima drops Kuroo’s hand in favor of grabbing Atsumu by the collar of his shirt and towing him along towards the back of the store where Sakusa had disappeared to.

“Um, ouch?” Atsumu stumbles along, not fighting Tsukishima’s hold, but not quite working with him either.

“Just shut up for a second!” Tsukishima snaps. “I’m trying to come up with a plan to save Sakusa.”

That gets Atsumu’s attention.

“What? Omi? Why? What happened?” Atsumu asks in rapid succession. Tsukishima groans in frustration and shoves him over to Kuroo to explain. His head is already pounding while he tries to come up with a solution, and Atsumu’s panicky voice isn’t helping matters. He needs to focus, or they’re all going to die.

They follow the store all the way back into a bigger room that looks like it’s mostly made for storage, a random assortment of objects lining the walls and stacked in heaps collecting dust.

And there are more statues. Hundreds and hundreds more statues.

Tsukishima claps a hand over his mouth to fight back the bile rising in his throat at the implication of their stoney faces, frozen in time forever.

All of Medusa’s victims.

“There they are,” Kuroo hisses, grabbing Tsukishima’s arm and pulling him to hide behind a gazebo before he even sees what Kuroo is talking about. Atsumu ducks quickly behind a stack of wooden crates across the aisle from them. Breath coming in short, quick pants, Tsukishima peeks around the corner of the gazebo.

At the very end of the row, standing in front of a wall full of stacks of different types of woods, are Sakusa and Medusa, who Tsukishima is relieved to see is still wearing her sunglasses. Sakusa is nodding along to something Medusa is explaining to him, running his hands over the different grains of woods, looking thoughtful and completely off his guard. 

“Okay,” Tsukishima turns to Kuroo with a whisper. “We can’t look at her when we fight her, but that doesn’t mean we have to fight without being able to see her.”

“Right,” Kuroo nods along easily. “And what exactly does that mean?”

Tsukishima huffs, looking around at the assortment of things filling the storage.

“We need to find something with a reflective surface. I can hold it up so you can see while you fight her, or we could -”

“Not enough time,” Atsumu hisses urgently, pointing towards where Medusa is slowly starting to reach for her sunglasses.

“Shit,” Tsukishima curses under his breath. Atsumu is right. There’s not enough time.

Before he can even react, Kuroo is scrambling over his lap, a hand clamped down over his eyes as he leans out into the aisle and shouts: “Sakusa, don’t look!”

His voice rings out, echoing off the high rafters of the room, breaking the silence like a sledgehammer shattering a mirror. Medusa snaps her head in their direction, hissing.

No, wait. She’s not hissing, her _hair_ is, underneath the green scarf.

Sakusa turns back to them as well, eyes widened in surprise and confusion. Tsukishima can practically see the adrenaline flooding his veins, the fighting instincts kicking in.

Those instincts unfortunately don’t include closing his eyes.

Medusa digs her fingers into his shoulders and spins him around forcefully to face her, going to rip off her glasses off while he simply stares.

 _Oh, Gods,_ Tsukishima’s heart sinks. _It’s over._

Out of the corner of his eye, and too quick for Tsukishima to stop him, he sees Atsumu scramble out from his hiding spot. His eyes are squeezed shut tight as he stands in the middle of the aisle, defenseless and shaking in the knees. Tsukishima holds his breath and feels Kuroo do the same next to him as Atsumu screams in frantic desperation:

“Omi, close your eyes!”

Not even a fraction of a second passes before miraculously enough, he does.

Tsukishima keeps his eyes resolutely trained on Sakusa, but he can tell the moment that Medusa takes off her glasses. And he can see Sakusa’s skin remain perfectly smooth and pale.

Alive. Human.

For whatever reason, when Atsumu told him to close his eyes, he actually did it.

Tsukishima is going to spend a _lot_ of time agonizing over the thought process behind _that_ particular decision at a later time.

Because now, Medusa shrieks like a Banshee, and the hissing sounds get louder, like she’s finally freed her snake-nest hair from its confines. Tsukishima can’t tell for sure, but to his credit, Sakusa barely flinches at the sound.

“You’ll pay for that, you miserable little brat!” Medusa screams. 

Suddenly, she’s grabbing Sakusa by the collar of his shirt, and they’re so close that Tsukishima has to close his eyes to avoid accidentally looking at her. There’s a dull thudding sound, accompanied by Sakusa’s pained groan, and when Tsukishima peeks his eyes back open again, Sakusa has been thrown a few feet away and is now crumpled on the ground with a dark red stain on his forehead. Tsukishima glances up and spots a matching red stain on the stone statue behind him, where he had presumably hit his head before falling.

At the sound of Sakusa’s groan, Atsumu nearly sinks to the floor in relief. He hadn’t opened his eyes once during the entire ordeal. This was his first sign that Sakusa hadn’t actually been turned to stone. That he’d managed to save him in time. “Oh, Gods, shit, _Omi,_ you’re still alive.”

“F’r now,” Sakusa grumbles, his words slurring as he tries to raise himself up into a sitting position on shaky arms, only to collapse back to the ground.

He doesn’t look so good, his pale skin turning frighteningly paler, blood dripping down the side of his face and matting his hair to his forehead.

They don’t have a lot of time.

And Tsukishima has a crazy plan.

“Tetsurou,” Tsukishima says, clearly surprising his boyfriend with how quickly and fiercely he turns to him, grabbing both of his hands. “Do you trust me?” He asks, eyes boring into Kuroo’s golden ones. His plan can only work with two people who trust each other with the most certain and absolute faith.

It has to be them.

Kuroo answers with no hesitation.

“Yes.” 

Tsukishima nods and ducks in to press a fast, searing kiss to his lips, pulling back and resting their foreheads together. From this close, Kuroo’s eyes are almost blinding, and Tsukishima can feel his slightly shaky exhale.

“Good. Because I’m going to be your eyes for you.”  
  
  


~*~

Tsukishima knows that Kuroo trusts him. In a way, Kuroo trusted him before he even knew him. When Tsukishima was nothing more than a snarky, scrawny little thirteen year old offering him his hand at the lowest point of his life. Kuroo had no reason to trust him back then - he had no reason to trust anyone at all, and yet. When Tsukishima offered his hand, Kuroo took it.

But it’s one thing to know that Kuroo trusts him, and another thing completely to literally be holding his boyfriend’s life in his hands.

The whole thing happened so quickly, Tsukishima barely had time to process it. Not even a full minute passed between Tsukishima coming up with the plan and Kuroo tearing off a piece of cloth from the bottom of his shirt to tie around his eyes like a blindfold, revealing a toned strip of his lower abdomen, drawing his sword and jumping out from his hiding place. 

“Hey!” Kuroo shouts, sword raised. “You’re gonna have to get through me if you want him!”

His voice is strong and commanding, and if he’s at all nervous, it doesn’t show. Tsukishima knows that he isn’t thinking of himself or his own safety anymore, he’s just thinking about saving Sakusa. About keeping them all safe.

It’s been a while since Tsukishima has seen him in action. Has seen the beautiful, brave hero he fell in love with.

Medusa, who had been advancing on Sakusa’s crumpled form, spun at the sound of Kuroo’s voice. Tsukishima makes sure not to look anywhere above her collarbones from his hiding place, but he’s pretty sure her pretty smile is nowhere in sight anymore.

“Gladly,” Medusa snarls. “I’ll have a whole collection of demigod brats to decorate with after this!”

Completely blind and at the mercy of Tsukishima’s directions, Kuroo takes off running towards Medusa. No hesitation.

Absolute faith.

It was totally insane. It was ridiculously hot. It was probably the worst possible time in the world to be getting turned on, but Kuroo was nothing if not an occupational hazard to Tsukishima.

An unfortunate factor of the terrain that Tsukishima failed to take into account, however, was the plethora of gardening tools that make for perfect weapons laying around. Plenty for Medusa to choose from.

“On your left!” Tsukishima directs Kuroo. “And also she has a hatchet now!”

“She has a _what?”_

Luckily, Kuroo is one of the strongest fighters Tsukishima has ever had the pleasure of watching in action (though he might be bit biased), and his instincts have him dodging and swinging with an almost deadly accuracy. Almost. Tsukishima can’t follow the entire arc of the blade, but from the angry hissing sounds that follow, he thinks Kuroo might have managed to clip a few of the snakes wriggling from her scalp.

There’s a glint of metal flashing out of the corner of Tsukishima’s eye. “Duck!”

Kuroo follows his instruction, even going as far as to thrust his own sword forward without having to be told. He can sense where Medusa is now, his body moving practically on autopilot. As long as Tsukishima keeps an eye out for the attacks he won’t be able to see coming, Kuroo is completely capable of winning a fight blindfolded.

Hot.

Medusa lets out another enraged cry and Tsukishima can’t help but smirk to himself when Kuroo turns towards the sound, almost catching her on his blade again. She’s giving her location away with how spitting mad she and her snakes are, and just making Kuroo’s job that much easier on him.

They can’t play this back and forth game with her forever, though.

“Atsumu, hey,” Tsukishima edges closer to him, still keeping an eye on Kuroo and calling out warnings when he needs them. Atsumu nearly jumps out of his skin when Tsukishima touches his arm, and he’s quick to reassure him. “It’s just me, you idiot. I’m standing in front of you, you can open your eyes now.”

“This better not be some kind of trick.”

“Trust me, when I want you dead, I’ll do the honors myself.”

“Comforting.”

Tsukishima spares a glance away from Kuroo to look back at Atsumu over his shoulder, just in time to see his downcast gaze land on Sakusa across the room. His eyes widen and Tsukishima is barely fast enough to throw out an arm and stop him from running to his side.

“Move, Kei,” Atsumu snaps.

“Just hold on!” Tsukishima snaps back. Then, to Kuroo: “High, on your left!”

Kuroo dodges.

“Thanks, babe!”

“You’re doing great!” Tsukishima replies. Kuroo works better with words of encouragement. He turns to Atsumu again. “We’re gonna get Sakusa out of here, but first we have to deal with Medusa or we’re all dead. Understand?”

The explanation doesn’t make Atsumu look any happier, but he does begrudgingly give a short nod. 

Tsukishima pulls him in, still keeping one eye on Kuroo, and tells Atsumu what he needs to do in a hushed voice, not wanting to risk Medusa overhearing them. Atsumu nods again when Tsukishima is finished, and darts off into the aisles, quickly disappearing among the stacks.

Hermes kids. Damn sneaky bastards.

Tsukishima gives his full attention back to Kuroo and Medusa’s fight. There are some scratches down Kuroo’s arms that look more like he was caught by Medusa’s sharp nails than the actual hatchet in her hands, but other than that, he seems to be doing fine. He’s a better fighter than Medusa, that’s for sure, but as long as he can’t look at her and she keeps dodging his blade, they’ll be on even ground. It doesn’t look like either of them have been able to get a solid hit in yet, which is a blessing and a curse. Kuroo isn’t seriously injured, but neither is Medusa.

His eyes dart around, trying to catch a glimpse of Atsumu, but the son of Hermes is concealing himself well, wherever he is, and Kuroo is keeping Medusa occupied enough that she hasn’t even noticed his absence yet. Perfect.

“Left, middle!” Tsukishima calls when he notices Medusa’s hatchet swinging towards Kuroo’s ribs from the left. Kuroo raises his sword to protect his side, and - 

Medusa switches her angle at the last second.

Tsukishima’s mouth opens to warn him but the words won’t come out fast enough and the blade is heading straight for the center of Kuroo’s chest.

And he’s too slow. His words and his body are too slow and the hatchet it moving too fast.

His feet are moving even though he knows it’s hopeless and his eyes start to drift higher, towards their faces. In his panic, he forgets that he’s trying to avoid Medusa’s eyes, or maybe he’s so sure Kuroo is going to die he doesn’t care anymore. Doesn’t care what happens to him.

It would probably even hurt less. Being turned to stone, instead of having to deal with the pain of watching the hatchet bury itself in Kuroo’s chest.

He sees Medusa’s mouth, twisted into a cruel smirk.

Her nose, dripping blood from the left side.

The bottom row of her eyelashes.

“Heads up, bitch!”

Just as Tsukishima is starting to glimpse the ring of color around Medusa’s pupils, it’s all gone away. Her entire head, covered up by a burlap sack, wielded triumphantly by none other than Miya Atsumu. Tsukishima almost drops to his knees when, in her surprise at being snuck up on and tackled from behind, suddenly unable to see, Medusa is knocked to the ground, her weapon skidding across the floor and far away from Kuroo’s chest.

Kuroo. Fully intact. His heart still beating in his chest.

_Gods._

“Took you long enough.” Tsukishima clutches his chest to make sure his own heart doesn’t pound out of it.

Atsumu shrugs, lips quirked into a dangerous half-smile as he stands over Medusa’s kneeling form, one hand on the top of her head, holding it still within the confines of the bag, and the other holding his sword to her throat. “You wouldn’t believe the traffic out there, darling.”

Tsukishima manages a relieved puff of breath, close to a laugh, while Kuroo hesitantly reaches for his blindfold.

“It sounds like it’s over. Is it over?” He struggles with the knot at the back of his head and Tsukishima finally gets his legs to move again, walking up to Kuroo and gently batting his hands away to undo the tie for him. When the fabric falls away, Kuroo hesitantly peeks one eye open, face spreading into a grin and blinking them fully open when he sees Tsukishima in front of him.

“Now _those_ are some killer eyes.”

Through his exasperated groans and Kuroo’s laughter, Tsukishima grabs him by his stupidly alive face and kisses him even stupider. 

There’s still adrenaline and a heady rush of relief coursing through his veins, and he holds Kuroo like he never wants to let him go. Pushes his tongue past his lips just to feel every warm, living proof of his existence. Kuroo’s laughter turns into a muffled groan, and the kiss is short, but it leaves them both slightly panting for air.

“Almost got you killed,” Tsukishima admits, one hand resting over the center of Kuroo’s chest, feeling his heart beat beneath his fingertips.

“Yikes,” Kuroo says, tucking a strand of hair behind Tsukishima’s ear with a crooked grin. “Glad it didn’t work. Better luck next time.”

“I didn’t do it on _purpose!”_

Kuroo hums noncommittally, like he doesn’t believe him, and Tsukishima opens his mouth to argue when he’s interrupted by Atsumu clearing his throat loudly.

Oh, right. They were in the middle of something.

Atsumu presses his sword harder against Medusa’s throat, an uncharacteristically serious and hardened look on his face.

“Mind if I do the honors?”

“Wait!” Medusa screeches, voice slightly muffled from within the bag over her head. “Wait, no! You don’t understand, please, please hear me out!” She turns her head blindly in Tsukishima’s direction. “Son of Athena! Your mother saved me once before, please. Spare me like she did.”

Tsukishima frowns. No, that’s… That’s not how the story went?

Athena was the one who _turned_ Medusa into the monster she is. To punish her for defiling her temple by sleeping with -

Tsukishima glances over at Sakusa, struggling to sit upright now, and remembers the way Medusa had specifically targeted him from the beginning.

Oh, right.

She was being punished for sleeping with Poseidon in Athena’s temple. Medusa probably smelled Sakusa and Tsukishima coming from a mile away.

“My -” Tsukishima stops and starts again slowly. “Athena didn’t save you, she cursed you for disrespecting her temple by turning you into a monster.”

“No, no,” Medusa shakes her head furiously. “You don’t understand. My appearance, it’s a gift from Athena!”

“Hope you kept the receipt,” Kuroo snorts.

“I was beautiful before, but I was weak,” Medusa says, ignoring Kuroo’s comment. “It was easy for men to push me around, to take advantage of me. Don’t you see? Athena gave me the power to protect myself! Please,” she whimpers. “Please, you’re her son. She would want you to let me live.”

There are hundreds of thousands of retellings of Medusa’s story - Tsukishima has probably read at least half of them himself. But never once has he heard it told like this before. That Medusa was an unwilling accomplice to Poseidon, that she resented her own beauty and the attention men gave her because of it, that Athena - Athena was kind to her? Instead of being cruel and malicious, she had given Medusa a way to fight back against men who tried to use her for her beauty.

A tiny, traitorous part of Tsukishima’s brain can’t help but think of Oikawa. Just a kid, too small to fit into his training armor, but too beautiful to be left out in the real world. Did Oikawa ever resent his own beauty like that?

No, he can’t relate the two of them in his mind. It’ll only make him feel sympathy for the monster in front of him, and that’s where their differences lie. 

Oikawa is no monster. 

Medusa was a victim, yes, but that didn’t give her the right to be a killer.

Atsumu meets his eye, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

Tsukishima hesitates, and he hates himself for it. But then he remembers Sakusa, his forehead stained with blood, and Kuroo with a blade pressed to his chest, and the young girl in the Camp Half Blood shirt with the braids down her back.

“Your first mistake,” he says as calmly as he can while his fists shake at his sides, “was assuming that I’m anything like my mother.”

Kuroo takes one of his tremblings hands in his own, the way Tsukishima used to do for him when they were kids. 

Atsumu nods in understanding, but before he strikes the final blow, he says very pointedly, “Just so you know, I would have killed her no matter what you said. So this isn’t on you, okay? It’s on me. Let me take this one.”

Tsukishima isn’t exactly sure what he’s trying to say at first, but then he realizes. If Atsumu takes full responsibility for killing Medusa, this decision won’t have been his. _It’s not on him._

It’s a nice reprieve from the feeling the responsibility of the world constantly weighing on his shoulders.

Atsumu’s eyes aren’t on Medusa when he kills her - he doesn’t look away from Sakusa for a single second, and Tsukishima is pretty sure that’s why his resolve doesn’t waver. Not even when Medusa shrieks and begs and sobs and the sound of her voice gurgling into nothingness fills the empty air.

No matter what else Atsumu is, he’s protective of the people he cares about. Tsukishima already knew deep down, from the moment Medusa hurt Sakusa, that letting her live wasn’t even an option in Atsumu’s mind.

The very instant Medusa’s body crumbles into nothing but golden dust scattered across the floor, Atsumu is at Sakusa’s side, helping him sit upright and pulling a square of ambrosia out of his backpack. Sakusa smacks Atsumu’s hand away half-heartedly when the son of Hermes tries to hand feed it to him, but doesn’t fight the way his body leans into Atsumu’s, head on his shoulder.

Keeping in mind what they originally came here to do, Kuroo and Tsukishima head over to the lumber section where Sakusa had been looking at wood before. They pick out a few sturdy looking pieces, but when Tsukishima goes to pick it up, he groans at the unexpected weight. Wood is, surprisingly, fucking heavy.

“Wait here, I’m going to get Atsumu to help you carry this shit. He’s stronger than me, and it’s his fault we’re here in the first place.”

Kuroo waves him off, easily throwing a few pieces over his broad shoulders. Tsukishima lets himself stare for a few seconds at the flexing of his biceps before heading back towards where Sakusa and Atsumu had been sitting.

He’s sure they don’t see him coming, otherwise Sakusa probably would have at least tried to make it look like he wasn’t practically falling asleep, curled up against Miya Atsumu of all people. Ambrosia can make people drowsy. Tsukishima had seen the same thing happen to Kuroo when he came back from a quest injured, and Sakusa’s head injury probably isn’t helping him stay awake either. His eyes are half-lidded, head resting heavily on Atsumu’s chest.

“Y’know, I never thought I’d say this,” Atsumu says quietly, with a soft smile. Almost too soft to belong on his face. “But you don’t look so hot, Omi.”

Sakusa lets out a light, airy sound that might have been a laugh.

“Hate you,” he mumbles, nose still buried in Atsumu’s neck.

Atsumu hums and wipes some of the blood from Sakusa’s temple carefully.

“I know. It’s a work in progress.”

Tsukishima slowly starts to backtrack, trying not to alert them to his presence. It would probably be bad for Sakusa to notice him and freak out, he’d probably move too quickly to put some space between himself and Atsumu. Plus he looks…comfortable. He probably shouldn’t be moved around too much right now.

Those are the _only_ reasons Tsukishima leaves them there and goes back to help Kuroo carry the stupid fucking wood.

He doesn’t care about the state of Miya Atsumu’s love life. He really doesn’t care at all.

Kuroo raises an amused eyebrow when Tsukishima returns, petulantly holding out his arms to get loaded up with lumber.

“What happened to getting Atsumu?”

“Just give me the wood, Death Boy.”

“Oh, baby, I’ll give you some -”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.”

Humming innocently under his breath, Kuroo stacks a few pieces of wood into Tsukishima’s waiting arms. Way less than his fair share, if the amount that Kuroo himself is carrying is any indication, but Kuroo doesn’t say anything about it. Just smacks a kiss on Tsukishima’s forehead while his arms are full and he can’t do anything to stop him, before leading the way out of the hardware store from Hades.

They collect Atsumu and Sakusa on their way, the son of Poseidon standing on his own two feet with some color returned to his cheeks now, but still allowing Atsumu to keep an arm around him to help him walk. So, he’s probably still at least a little bit out of it.

On the way out, they pass by the skittish store clerk, whose eyes go comically wide when he sees the four of them. A little scratched up, but very much not turned to stone.

“We’ll be taking this as payment for our services,” Kuroo says, gesturing to the wood.

“You’re welcome!” Atsumu calls back over his shoulder as they walk out of the store.  
  
  


~*~

Sakusa’s head injury is mild enough that in just a few hours, he’s already feeling well enough to get started on making his new cabin door. Kuroo offers to help, because apparently he took some wood shop class back in high school. Atsumu offers to help, too, but it’s unanimously decided that Atsumu, Sakusa, and power tools are not a good combination.

Tsukishima doesn’t offer to help because, well, he doesn’t want to.

He does offer his services to Yamaguchi, instead, who’s in the kitchen making lunch while Atsumu sits at the table teaching Lev and Goshiki how to make all sorts of dumb things using toothpicks. Goshiki seems to be making a tiny toothpick army, and Lev… Tsukishima honestly can’t tell what he’s trying to make, but it has Atsumu laughing so hard he falls out of his chair.

They’re loud and boisterous, but Tsukishima finds that he sort of doesn’t mind all the background noise while he and Yamaguchi easily shift around each other in the kitchen, Tsukishima mostly just providing the support work while Yamaguchi makes them all plates of quesadillas. They truly don’t deserve him.

He and Yamaguchi each have a fresh, melty quesadilla to themselves, tucked away in the kitchen, before sharing with anyone else. Yamaguchi said it’s his ‘helper’s privilege’ which makes Tsukishima feel like a little kid helping his mom in the kitchen, but also he gets his own quesadilla without having to fight anyone else for it, so he doesn’t complain.

“I’m going to bring these out to feed the wolves,” Yamaguchi says, wiping the last of the cheese and grease from his mouth and picking up a plate of quesadillas. “Why don’t you bring some to Kuroo and Sakusa?”

Tsukishima glances out to where Goshiki is holding a squirming Lev down while Atsumu appears to be trying to pierce his ear with a toothpick.

“Good idea,” he says, quickly grabbing a plate of his own and leaving before Yamaguchi can change his mind, or Atsumu can get any ideas about his perfectly untouched earlobes.

He hears Sakusa and Kuroo before he can actually see them since Sakusa’s room still doesn’t have a door and all. The steady thumping sound of hammers against wood, and their voices drifting out into the hallway.

“So what was that Atsumu used on you today?” Kuroo asks. “I didn’t know children of Hermes had their own version of Charmspeak.”

Tsukishima’s footsteps slow. Well that’s a possibility he hadn’t considered yet. That Atsumu might have some sort of secret power to make people do things with his words. He shudders to consider the implications of someone like _Atsumu_ having that power over people, but it would explain why Sakusa had obeyed him so quickly.

“What do you mean?” Sakusa responds. “They don’t.”

Now, Tsukishima stops altogether. He’s not…eavesdropping, necessarily. He’s just interested in where this conversation is going, and doesn’t want to interrupt.

“Then how did he get you to listen to him?”

“I don’t understand?” Sakusa sounds genuinely confused. “He just said my name and told me to close my eyes.”

“So did I!” Kuroo protests.

“It’s nothing personal. Just think about it. Whose voice would you rather hear in a life or death situation: mine or Tsukishima’s?”

Tsukishima does think about it, even though Sakusa hadn’t been talking to him. What would he have done if he had been in Sakusa’s position, knowing he was in danger but unsure of what that danger was? Thinks about the literal blind trust you would have to put into the person telling you to close your eyes, the same way Kuroo had blindly trusted Tsukishima to talk him through his fight with Medusa. The kind of trust that only comes from - 

Wait. No way. No _fucking_ way.

Kuroo hums thoughtfully, clearly not having put the pieces together yet. “Yeah, I guess that’s a good - wait.” The monotonous thudding of the hammer comes to an abrupt halt. “Did you just compare the way I feel about Tsukki to the way you feel about Atsumu? _Miya_ Atsumu?”

Yup, there he goes.

A deadly silent pause follows his words, and then Sakusa says in one of the most terrifying voices Tsukishima has ever heard: “Don’t say another word.”

Kuroo, never one to let something as trivial as a little life-threatening son of Poseidon stop him, says, “Dude, you _like_ him!”

 _“Shhhh,”_ Sakusa hisses, and there’s a clamorous sound, like he’s scrambling across a pile of wood and tools to cover Kuroo’s mouth and shut him up. Understandable. “You can never say that out loud again. He can _never_ know.”

Kuroo makes a muffled sound of confusion, confirming Tsukishima’s theory that he was being forcibly shut up. There’s a brief scuffle before he speaks again. “Why not? The guy is obviously crazy about you. Why don’t you just tell him?”

There’s another silence, this one less terrifying than before. More morose.

Tsukishima has to move a little closer to hear Sakusa’s next words, spoken in a much lower tone.

“People like Miya Atsumu are only interested in you if you pose a challenge to them. If he ever thought that for a second that I might actually… _care_ for him, he would immediately get bored of me. He just likes the chase. The game of it all.”

Tsukishima doesn’t care about the state of Miya Atsumu’s love life… He really doesn’t… But damn if Sakusa’s quiet confession doesn’t break his heart, just a little bit.

Because Sakusa is - he’s _amazing._ Smart and strong and kind and, as Tsukishima’s fourteen year old libido can attest to, _super fucking hot._ Sakusa could have pretty much anyone he wanted, and by some unlucky draw of the cards of fate and love, he wanted Miya Atsumu.

Gods. It really doesn’t get any more unfortunate than that.

Tsukishima is so lost in his own thoughts of being indignant of Sakusa’s behalf, he almost misses Kuroo’s response.

“I’m not gonna argue with you and say that Miya is some kind of Prince Charming or anything, but I do think you’re selling yourself and him a little short here. His tactics are…gross, but I don’t think he’s only interested in you just because he thinks you’re not interested in him. Hey, how do you even keep it a secret from him anyways?” Kuroo asks suddenly. “You can’t lie to him! You tell him you hate him all the time?”

“Yeah,” Sakusa says, a bit miserably. “I never lied about that.”

Tsukishima winces in sympathy. Sakusa really does hate Atsumu - because he _really_ doesn’t hate Atsumu at all.

“Well, either way,” Kuroo says, and Tsukishima can hear the shrug in his voice. “I don’t think Miya could find you boring if you were the telephone book. In braille. He may treat his feelings for you like a game, but I think that has more to do with his personality than how he actually feels about you. But hey, what do I know?” He asks airily. “I just managed to snag the love of my life after pining after him for my entire adolescence. Not like I have any experience with this stuff or anything.”

Tsukishima feels his lips spread into a helpless grin at Kuroo’s words. The love of his life. Yeah, Tsukishima likes the sound of that.

“Thanks for not rubbing it in,” Sakusa says drily. Kuroo laughs, and it sounds like he claps Sakusa on the shoulder.

“It was meant to be inspiring, dude! Take the risk, or whatever. It might just lead to the best thing that’s ever happened in your entire life.”

The soft, adoring tone of Kuroo’s voice is almost enough to make Tsukishima give up his presence just to run in there and kiss him breathless, but he doesn’t think Sakusa would appreciate that very much at this point, so he restrains himself. Barely.

Instead he turns around and marches back up to the kitchen.

Atsumu is the only one still sitting at the table when he gets there, with a crown made out of toothpicks sitting on top of his blonde head and an empty plate in front of him.

“Why _you?”_ Tsukishima accuses with absolutely zero context, pointing a finger right in Atsumu’s face.

Atsumu doesn’t seem phased at all by the question, sitting back with his arms crossed behind his head, nodding understandingly.

“I ask myself that same thing every day.” He pats the seat next to him. “Sit down, I’ll make you a crown.”

Tsukishima drops his hand and sighs. He wishes he had Oikawa or Futakuchi here to explain this all to him. But as it is, he accepts that he will never in his life understand the mystery of Miya Atsumu’s true feelings, hidden underneath a layer of obnoxious flirting, or how in Hades he got Sakusa Kiyoomi, the godsdamned son of Poseidon, to fall for him.

So he simply sits down in defeat.

“I want a bigger one than yours.”

“You’ll get what you get and you won’t be a complainer, Kei.”

“I hate you.”

“Mhm, I get that a lot. Speaking of, weren’t you supposed to bring those quesadillas to the Grim Reaper and Omi?” Atsumu asks, almost distractedly as he pokes his tongue between his teeth and works on supergluing toothpicks together.

Tsukishima looks down at the still full plate of quesadillas he brought back with him and scrambles for an excuse that doesn’t involve lying.

“I don’t think they were hungry.” An opinion. Not a lie.

Atsumu scrunches up his nose at Tsukishima’s answer, but the lie of omission must pass his test, because a second later he asks, “Can I have one, then?”

Tsukishima sighs and pushes the plate over to him. “Knock yourself out.”

Twenty minutes later, Kuroo comes up for a drink and finds them just like that: Tsukishima sitting there with Atsumu, glaring at him for no apparent reason, matching pointy toothpick crowns on their heads, and a half-eaten plate of quesadillas between them.

“I’m not even gonna ask.”  
  
  


~*~

There’s a good reason the Greeks are known for their tragedies.

Tsukishima grew up with some pretty morbid bedtime stories. Tales of boys with wings falling from the sky, musicians escaping the underworld who couldn’t help but take a peek behind them, heroes driven to madness and killing their own families, men falling in love with their own reflections, kings who turned their loved ones to gold when they embraced them.

Happy endings were rare. Tsukishima was as enthralled as he was horrified by them.

But none captivated him so much as the tragedy of Achilles.

Tsukishima doesn’t know what about that story above all others struck a chord within him. Even when he was younger and could barely even grasp the full heartbreak of it all, he asked Sugawara to tell him about the warrior Achilles and his poor lover Patroclus almost every night.

Maybe it was because Achilles was a young demigod, much like himself, so Tsukishima could almost relate to his plight. Maybe it was because he enjoyed the love stories between two men more than he enjoyed the ones between men and women. Maybe it was because he was a masochist. Who’s to say? 

Whatever the reason, it’s a tragedy Tsukishima knows better than most. Achilles, the great, undefeated warrior, young and golden and cursed to be a weapon in a game played between Gods and men for all time. How he went to war for the Greeks, fighting for a cause he didn’t even believe in, only to lose his greatest love, Patroclus. How Achilles had been so distraught over the death of his precious Patroclus, he ignored the warnings from the Fates about his own death, and got his revenge on the man who killed his lover, even though he knew it meant he would die, too.

Achilles hadn’t believed he was strong enough to defy the Fates, in that moment. Achilles had fully accepted that he was at their mercy, and simply didn’t care. The biggest of middle fingers to the Fates, really.

Many years later, Tsukishima knows exactly why this story still makes his heart ache.

It was only a week ago that Tsukishima almost let Medusa’s eyes turn him to stone because he thought he was about to watch Kuroo die right in front of him. He can only imagine Achilles’ own grief. The loss of his will to go on.

Confronting Thetis feels almost personal to him, though he’s never met her before in his life. She was Achilles’ mother, who had dipped him in the River Styx to protect him, who begged him not to fight in the war that took his life, and who mourned him more than anyone alive.

Tsukishima doesn’t blame her for hating the Gods.

But he can’t let her start this war, because he still has people that are alive who he refuses to mourn.  
  
  


~*~

“The Sea Witch,” the locals from the small town on the Southern coast of Iceland tell them, “lives in a cave of nightmares. Where men may enter, but may never return.”

Based on their descriptions, it’s pretty clear that the ‘Sea Witch’ they speak of is actually Thetis, and her ‘cave of nightmares’ is an alcove a few miles away, where the water is darkest and choppiest and surrounded by jagged rocks, warning off all except for the stupidest or bravest visitors. 

Tsukishima still isn’t sure which category they fall into.

But the _Argo II_ is a big ship, and doesn’t stand a chance of getting through the maze of rocks to the cave hidden beyond them without getting torn to shreds. They all stand at the bow of the ship, icy wind whipping around them, looking out across the dangerous landscape. Tsukishima shivers and Kuroo wraps an arm around his waist, pulling him closer to try and share body heat, but Tsukishima is still freezing.

“I have to go,” Sakusa says. 

No one bothers to disagree. They all know it has to be him. 

Surprisingly, but also not surprisingly at all, he turns to Kuroo next. “I know this is a lot to ask, but you’re one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen. I’d feel more confident if I had you behind me.”

Kuroo nods and squeezes Tsukishima tighter. “You don’t even have to ask, man. We’re all in this shit together.”

“I’m going, too.” 

Tsukishima looks over at Atsumu in surprise when he and the son of Hermes speak at exactly the same time.

“What?” Atsumu shrugs, crooked grin cutting through the tense atmosphere when everyone gives him matching incredulous looks. He winks at Sakusa. “I’ve got to get in you dad’s good graces somehow, right Omi?”

Instead of getting annoyed, or even begrudgingly amused, Sakusa frowns deeply.

“It’s going to be incredibly dangerous. I don’t - I don’t want you to do this just for me.”

Atsumu blinks at him earnestly and cocks his head to the side. “Who else would I do it for?”

Tsukishima doesn’t catch the rest of their conversation because Kuroo is murmuring his name low in his ear to get his attention, his dark eyebrows drawn together.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather stay behind? Between the three of us, I think we can handle -”

“Really?” Tsukishima cuts him off. “Trying to get me to sit on the sidelines again? How’d that work out for you last time?”

Kuroo looks down at his feet, properly chastised. “You, uh, killed the Nemean Lion and saved me and Bo’s lives?”

“So what are we not going to do this time around?”

“Ask you to sit on the sidelines?” Kuroo guesses.

“Correct.” Tsukishima taps Kuroo’s cheek to get him to look up again and kisses him softer than a wave lapping at the shore. “I stick with you, and you stick with me, from now on. That’s what you said when I got back from the Dream Realm, right?”

Kuroo huffs. “I was mostly referring to _you_ going into dangerous situations without _me…_ But I can see how the opposite should also be true.”

It’s never easy for Kuroo to see Tsukishima in any kind of danger. He’s already lost so many people, and his protective streak runs almost as deeply as Atsumu’s. Seeing Tsukishima risking his life is a special brand of torture for Kuroo, as he’s admitted to Tsukishima during many late night confessions.

But they’re equals. That’s means they fight together, they protect each other, and they win or lose standing side-by-side.

They’re stronger together.

Having settled things with Kuroo, Tsukishima turns his attention to the other three. 

Lev, despite being Russian, is the worst at dealing with the cold, and despite his fuzzy hat and heavy plaid coat, his teeth are chattering and his nose is bright red. Goshiki is standing packed tightly between Lev and Yamaguchi, warily eyeing the harsh waves splashing up the side of the ship, and Yamaguchi pats him comfortingly on the shoulder. Tsukishima doesn’t know if it’s because Goshiki told him about his fate, or just because he has a sixth sense for knowing when people need to be comforted. Either one is equally as likely in Tsukishima’s book.

“Lev,” he starts, “I need you at the helm. There’s no telling how choppy these waters are going to get if we _really_ piss off Thetis. Keep the _Argo_ afloat, you know how to handle this ship better than anyone else.” Lev nods and gives him a wonky salute. “Goshiki,” Tsukishima turns to the son of Ares next, his face pale and unsure. “Keep an eye on Lev, okay?”

It’s an easy out, and they both know it. Even though Goshiki had already proven himself in the Dream Realm by overcoming his fear of the water, facing an actual Sea Goddess who could sink their boat with a bat of her lashes was a totally different battle. There was no use putting him in unnecessary danger, and the safest place for him would be with Lev at the control panels.

Goshiki exhales in thinly disguised relief and gives him a shaky smile, clapping Lev on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about us, you just worry about getting the job done.”

Tsukishima nods before turning to Yamaguchi. His friend is already looking at him with knowing brown eyes, like can already predict exactly what he’s going to ask, but Tsukishima still has to say it anyways.

“Take care of them for me?”

Coming to terms with Yamaguchi’s strength had been a strange journey, but once Tsukishima accepted that his sweet, mild-mannered, freckle-faced friend was in face a very powerful and competent demigod, it took a lot of burden that had been weighing down on him off of his shoulders. Not only did he now get to worry less about keeping Yamaguchi safe, he could also confidently depend on him to help take care of everyone else. To make sure they all got back from this in one piece.

“I will,” Yamaguchi reaches for Tsukishima’s hand and gives it a quick squeeze. “You can count on me.”

Tsukishima knows, and he does. He’s been counting on Yamaguchi ever since they were kids and he thought Yamaguchi’s greatest party trick was simply making people sneeze daisies, not wrangling Hydras with strawberry plants.

He watches the three of them run off, leaving only himself, Kuroo, Atsumu, and the only living son of Poseidon to face the sea.

“Well,” Tsukishima puts a hand on the railing and the four of them look down into the swirling darkness of the water below. “Let’s go see if anyone’s home.”  
  
  


~*~

Using one of the small lifeboats that the _Argo II_ is equipped with, they start their perilous journey through the rocks and towards the mouth of the cave in the distance. They probably would have been crushed to pieces the second they touched the water, if not for Sakusa calming the angry waves around them, allowing them to glide almost seamlessly through the maze of sharp rocks.

The closer they get to the dark mouth of the cave, the colder and more bitter the air stings. Tsukishima’s eyes are watering so badly from the chill biting at his cheeks and his nose, he has to turn and hide his face in Kuroo’s chest for a good part of the journey. He can feel the shifting of Kuroo’s pectoral muscles as he rows in tandem with Atsumu while Sakusa controls the water surrounding the boat.

It’s rhythmic and monotonous, until it stops.

“Tsukki,” Kuroo murmurs into the top of his head. “Look alive, sweetheart. We’ve got company.”

Blearily blinking his eyes open, Tsukishima sees her. Standing - hovering? - over the water right at the entrance to the cave. Where the darkness gives way just barely to the overcast sun above, she’s still shrouded mostly in shadows.

But, oh. Wow.

Tsukishima is about as gay as they come, but even he feels his breath catch at the beautiful, broken sadness about Thetis. The angry, defiant kind of beauty that burns like an open flame.

Her skin is as pale as snow, her cheekbones sharp and severe, and her eyes darker and more vast than the depths of the murky sea. Midnight black hair hangs down to her knees and falls in thick strands in front of her face.

“You’ve mad a mistake coming here,” she says, voice rough like waves crashing against rocks. From a few hundred yards away, her words still ring out loud and clear. “I don’t like hurting your kind, but I will if I must.”

“Well that works out perfectly,” Atsumu says with what he probably thinks is a charming grin but just makes him look like he’s up to no good. It’s a genetic trait among the Hermes kids, but Atsumu almost perfectly embodies the trickster spirit of his father when he flashes his pearly whites. “Because we certainly don’t like getting hurt, either.”

“No.” Tsukishima grabs the back of Atsumu’s shirt when he tries to stand. “You sit here and absolutely do not talk anymore.”

“What? Why? I’m great with older women!” Atsumu starts to complain, but goes quiet when Sakusa rises. He doesn’t look back at the three of them, jaw set resolutely as he steps out of the boat -

And on _top_ of the water.

It’s one of the most unbelievable and most magnificent things Tsukishima has ever seen. The waves crash around Sakusa but never touch him, the spray misting across his skin and catching dewey in his dark curls. He cuts a sharp and imposing silhouette as he approaches Thetis, both powerful enough to control the tides and delicate enough not to break the surface of the water.

Atsumu sucks in a quiet breath.

So, this is the true power of a son of Poseidon. 

Tsukishima silently wishes Atsumu good fucking luck. Though, he supposes at the end of the day he didn’t fall in love with someone any less terrifyingly powerful.

“We don’t want to fight you,” Sakusa says to Thetis, hands raised innocently as he approaches her. “All we want to do is talk.” 

Her eyes are trained intently on him and have been ever since he stepped foot on the water.

“I’ll listen to what you have to say,” Thetis concedes after a long pause. Her glare goes icy, looking past Sakusa to the rest of them still in the boat. “But only you, a child of the sea. I don’t care for the opinions of any others.”

Wow, okay. _Bitch,_ Tsukishima thinks crossly but doesn’t dare risk saying aloud.

He doesn’t use the term lightly, he just knows a real bitch when he sees one. He accidentally scuffed one of Shirabu’s fancy matte black combat boots during capture the flag once and got cursed with dry, itchy skin for almost a month. He watched Oikawa passive aggressively torture a girl for weeks because she flirted with Iwaizumi, until she eventually left camp altogether. He dated _Futakuchi Kenji,_ for crying out loud. 

He crosses his arms indignantly over his chest, but keeps his lips pressed tightly together. He won’t let his bruised ego ruin their chances at turning Thetis to their side. Or, at least, turning her off of Thanatos’ side.

Sakusa nods in agreement. “You already know why we’re here, so I won’t waste either of our time. My only question for you is what it will take for us to convince you not to help Thanatos start this war?”

Thetis looks thoughtful, which Tsukishima takes as a good sign. It’s better than her just flat out rejecting them right off the bat. Then she speaks again, rumbling voice making the water churn around her.

“You want to stop this war and save the world so badly, but can you give me a single good reason why it deserves to be saved? Why the Gods deserve to maintain their positions on Olympus?”

Never mind. They’re totally screwed.

Tsukishima hates that he can only see part of Sakusa’s face from their position behind him. Not that Sakusa is very easy to read anyways, but he’d like at least a hint as to what he’s thinking right now. How he’s going to answer, to defend Olympus and the world.

Tsukishima’s not sure he would know what to say in Sakusa’s position.

“We aren’t here on behalf of the Gods,” Sakusa finally says. “Our interest isn’t in defending them, or their actions. It’s in protecting the innocent people who will pay for this war with their lives, while the Gods play a cosmic game of King of the Hill. People like me and -” Sakusa glances back at Tsukishima, Kuroo, and Atsumu. “And my friends.” Atsumu makes a tiny, pleased sound. “And our families, and all the other demigods at Camp Half Blood.”

“Really?” Thetis sneers. “This has nothing to do with him? With _Poseidon?”_ The name is spit out like it’s poison.

Sakusa shakes his head, hands still raised. “I hardly even know him, why would I be risking my life like this for him?”

At Sakusa’s response, Thetis’ entire mood changes, the sea shifting with it. She puts a hand to her chest, eyes sympathetic and misty.

“Oh, you poor thing. You’re a child of the sea, but are you truly the son of Poseidon? Is he really your _father?_ A parent to you? A loving protector and caretaker?” 

Sakusa doesn’t answer, and Tsukishima can see the way his shoulders tense. He looks down and away from Thetis. 

“How awful,” the Sea Goddess simpers. “That’s what I thought. Tell you what, I’ll make you an offer, because I can tell that you’re a special one: You can stay here with me. I’ll shelter you and keep you safe from harm, the way a good parent should. The way Poseidon doesn’t do for you, and the way I couldn’t -” She cuts herself off, a pained expression crossing her face and the waves grow restless. 

_The way I couldn’t for Achilles._

Tsukishima hears the haunting words echoing off the cavern walls even though they aren’t spoken aloud.

“This war is out of any of our hands,” Thetis continues. “But if you stay with me, you don’t have to perish along with the rest of the world.”

A horrifying stretch of time passes and Sakusa doesn’t say ‘no’.

Tsukishima’s nails dig into his knees through the fabric of his jeans as the seconds tick by and Sakusa remains silent. 

No way. There’s no way Sakusa would betray them. There are a lot of kids at camp who resent their parents for being so absent, but Tsukishima never thought Sakusa was one of them? To be fair, he’s never really had any extensive heart-to-hearts with Sakusa about their relationships with their parents, but to think that he could possibly resent Poseidon enough to… To…

And what about Atsumu? Sakusa cares about the son of Hermes, no matter how much he wishes he didn’t. He wouldn’t just abandon him and leave him for dead.

But he thinks his affections for Atsumu are meaningless, doesn’t he? That Atsumu sees him as nothing more than a conquest, a game to win. He had sounded pretty broken up about it when he and Kuroo were talking about it in his cabin.

If someone were to be carrying around that much bitterness, and a Goddess offered them the unconditional love and affection no parent or Miya Atsumu had ever given them before? Well. That person might just act somewhat unpredictably.

“You would take me in?” Sakusa breaks the silence in a quiet, vulnerable voice that shoots Tsukishima like an arrow through the chest. “Even though I’m…his?”

“No,” Tsukishima whispers, nails digging into his flesh harder.

Thetis smiles at him, reaches out a welcoming hand. “What belongs to the sea can always return, my child.”

Sakusa won’t look back at them.

Tsukishima’s not sure he wants to see the expression on his face right now anyways.

“Okay,” he whispers hurriedly under his breath to Kuroo and Atsumu. “This was definitely not part of my plan, so we’re going to have to act fast. Without Sakusa -”

“Woah, woah,” Atsumu interrupts him. “What do you mean ‘without Sakusa’?”

“Without him on our side -” Tsukishima elaborates, only to be cut off again.

“Are you stupid or something?” Atsumu gapes. Tsukishima grits his teeth, the word ‘stupid’ ringing jarringly in his ears. It’s only Kuroo’s hand on his arm that stops him from strangling Atsumu and shoving his head under the water. “He’s playing her, obviously!”

Tsukishima unclenches his hands from his knees, feeling an exhaustive rush of relief go through him. Gods, he really owes Sakusa an apology when all this is over.

“Well _sorry_ we can’t all be human lie detectors!” He huffs. Atsumu scoffs.

“Don’t need my powers to tell you that Omi is lying to her. He would never turn against his dad, he loves Poseidon. He used to come to all of Omi’s swim meets literally every weekend. They’re close.”

Huh. So apparently, Atsumu _did_ have heart-to-hearts with Sakusa about their relationships with their parents. How about that?

Atsumu smirks at him when Tsukishima doesn’t respond.

“Told ya I listen to him.”

And something about those few little words, the truth of them and the simple honesty, makes one thing very clear to Tsukishima.

That thing being, _Holy shit, Atsumu actually, genuinely really likes Sakusa, too._

“Okay, then what exactly is he doing?” Tsukishima hisses, saving his revelation for a later, less life-threatening date.

“Probably just playing nice to try and stall for time.”

“Time for what?”

Atsumu gives him a funny look. “For you to come up with a plan to get us out of here, I’m guessin’.”

“Oh. Right. I can do that.”

Tsukishima _did_ have a plan before they even found Thetis, but of course the whole thing was shot to Hades when Thetis refused to talk with anyone except for Sakusa.

“Okay the most important thing is that we have to -”

 _Keep her calm,_ is what Tsukishima was going to say next. He’s heard the stories, and he’s seeing the proof before his eyes right now: Thetis is one of the most unpredictable and moody of the Gods. All the Gods of the sea are, really. Apparently Poseidon has gotten more chill over the years, but even he was known to be temperamental, as impossible to predict as the tides themselves.

It what makes the ocean such a dangerous place.

As further proven by the fact that before Tsukishima can even get the words out of his mouth, a watery hand is emerging from the sea beside their lifeboat and wrapping itself around Atsumu in an impossibly solid grip. It all happens so quickly and unexpectedly that Tsukishima can do nothing but stare in shock and horror as Atsumu is lifted out of the boat and raised high into the air.

Kuroo’s instincts are luckily much faster than his, and he pulls out his Stygian Iron sword in the blink of an eye, slashing at the water.

It goes harmlessly right through.

“Woah!” Atsumu twists in the water’s grasp, trying to free himself. “Seriously? What the heck did _I_ do?”

Thetis smiles peacefully, attention still fully on Sakusa before her. The son of Poseidon has his hands balled tightly into fists by his side, his eyes stormy as he watches the watery hand lift Atsumu higher and higher.

Tsukishima has a sudden memory of being much younger on a trip to the beach. Remembers a man’s familiar voice telling him as he splashed around in the shallow waves, _“Never turn your back on the ocean.”_ He hadn’t understood the somber warning at the time.

He thinks he finally understands now.

“What are you doing with him?” Sakusa asks Thetis in a carefully controlled voice, but it sounds like he’s gritting his teeth. Tsukishima instinctively grabs Kuroo’s free hand, just in case Thetis gets any funny ideas about him next.

Thetis’s smile sharpens, pulling at the edges until it looks like her face is going to split and showing too much of her teeth.

“Let’s call it a bit of insurance, shall we?”

“Insurance of what?”

“That you’ll stay,” Thetis says simply. “If you truly intend on staying here with me, it means that you don’t care about what happens to your little friends or the rest of the world in the coming war. It shouldn’t bother you at all if they die now, rather than later.”

“I can see how you might think that, given the whole back-and-forth banter thing we have going on!” Atsumu calls down, making Thetis’s smile turn into a snarl. “But actually, I’m pretty sure that deep down, Omi would be pretty sad if I died!”

“Not helping!” Sakusa growls, fists tightening and face flushing a telling shade of red. The very same shade of red it turns almost every time Atsumu opens his mouth, which Tsukishima previously believed to be an angry flush, but now knows was actually _blush_ the whole time.

Atsumu opens his mouth to respond, but his words turn into a terrified shout as he’s suddenly whipped through the air and released so that he goes flying a couple hundred yards away. Even from that distance, Tsukishima can hear the painful sounding noise his body makes and it slams into the surface of the water with force.

Tsukishima is pretty sure he stops breathing for the next few seconds, during which a lot of things happen.

The first thing that happens is actually something that doesn’t happen: Atsumu doesn’t resurface.

The next thing is that without even a moment’s hesitation, Sakusa is diving under the water and swimming towards the spot where Atsumu disappeared beneath the water.

This, in turn, leads to Thetis screaming in rage, the freezing wind starting to whip so fast around them it feels like needles digging into Tsukishima’s skin, and the waves growing huge and restless. She’s bellowing words like _’liar’_ and _’trickster’_ and _‘just like your father’._

The last thing that happens in those few seconds is Kuroo pulling him against his chest, arms wrapping around him as he pushes him to the floor of the boat, hovering above him protectively with his entire body caging Tsukishima in.

“Shit.” Tsukishima blinks up at Kuroo. The droplets of water on his glasses make his vision blurry, but he can clearly see his boyfriend’s grim look, dark eyebrows pulled together and hair hanging wet in his face. _“Shit._ They’re both totally going to die.”

“They’re not going to die,” Kuroo tries to comfort him right as a wave rocks the lifeboat so violently, it almost flips over completely. Kuroo curls around him even tighter, so that Tsukishima can feel the erratic beating of his heart and the chill of his normally warm skin. “Okay, I’m a little more worried about _us_ dying, to be honest.”

“We’re in a _boat!”_ Tsukishima says shrilly. “Atsumu is probably sinking to the bottom of the ocean right now, and Sakusa just royally pissed off the bitchiest Sea Goddess of all time!”

“Sakusa will take care of Atsumu! He’s a son of Poseidon for fuck’s sake!”

“Oh, just like you’re gonna ‘take care of me’, right?” Tsukishima bites back sarcastically. “This is exactly why you didn’t want me here! You still think I can’t handle myself!”

Kuroo sounds exasperated when he shouts back, _“Yes!_ I mean, no, it’s not that I don’t think you can handle yourself, but yes, I’m going to take care of you because we love each other, which means we take care of each other! It doesn’t mean that either of us is stronger or weaker than the other, it just means that we care!” 

He sighs heavily, dropping his head to Tsukishima’s collarbone. Tsukishima swallows hard, immediately regretting his panic-fueled words. 

_It’s always going to be this hard for him,_ Tsukishima reminds himself. _He’s already lost so much, it’s always going to be hard for him to think that I might be next._

“Been sitting on that one for a while there, huh, big guy?” He asks quietly.

Kuroo huffs a weak laugh that Tsukishima can only hear over the howling wind because Kuroo’s face is so close to his ear. “Are we having a fight right now?”

The boat is still rocking dangerously, threatening to tip them over at any moment, and dark storm clouds have started swirling above. Tsukishima can feel both of their chests rising and falling with rapid breaths where they’re pressed together. He brings up a hand to brush through Kuroo’s salty, wet hair.

“No. No, we’re not having a fight. I’m sorry, Tetsurou. You’re right.”

Kuroo pulls back, the wind whipping his hair helplessly in every direction, and they are in _so_ much trouble right now, but still Kuroo gives him the softest little surprised smile in the midst of the storm. Tsukishima feels his chest clench painfully. Gods, he doesn’t deserve Kuroo.

There are about a million more things Tsukishima can think to say to Kuroo in the moment, all beginning and ending with _‘I love you’,_ but instead he settles for grabbing Kuroo by the soaked fabric of his shirt and hauling him in for a fast and hard kiss. 

As they apart, there’s a low, rumbling sound from below the lifeboat. They both scramble to sit up and look over the edge of the boat, where the water churning and bubbling furiously. Tsukishima knows he just said he didn’t need to be ‘taken care of’, but he still latches onto one of Kuroo’s biceps and crowds closer against him anyways. 

Kuroo holds Tsukishima behind him, raising his sword in preparation for an attack. Because slashing at the water had worked out _so_ well for him last time.

The next moment, only a few feet away, it’s surprisingly Sakusa who emerges from the sea on the crest of a huge column of water, shooting straight into the air like some kind of superhero. The awesomeness level of the situation is brought down a few pegs when Tsukishima notices Atsumu, unconscious and held in his arms.

Sakusa’s eyes are narrowed dangerously at Thetis, lips pulled into a snarl that Tsukishima has never seen the likes of on the son of Poseidon’s face before.

Kuroo cups a hand around his mouth and leans in close to say, “I don’t think he’s interested in playing nice anymore.”

Tsukishima wants to respond, but something about the image strikes Tsukishima as oddly familiar, tugging at the loose threads of his memory. Atsumu’s limp body cradled protectively in Sakusa’s arms, the raw, unfiltered anger on Sakusa’s face as he holds him tight enough to bruise. He’s seen it before… He knows he’s seen it somewhere…

Oh, that’s right. It was a piece of art accompanying a story in a book he’s read many, many times.

_Achilles Lamenting the Death of Patroclus_

Apparently, he’s not the only one who recognizes it.

“My son!” Thetis lets out a wail that shakes the Earth. The sound is so horrible, so wretched that Tsukishima can hardly tell if it’s anger or sadness, but it’s dangerous all the same. 

The sea churns and the waves fight for dominance, throwing Tsukishima and Kuroo around like a couple of rag dolls. The entire cave above Thetis trembles and large boulders drop into the sea below. 

“My son was _aristos achaion_ \- the best of the Greeks - and the Gods let him die! He was a hero who fought their wars for them and they _killed_ my _son!_ What makes you think they won’t do the same to you? That you’re any better than he was? None of you deserve the title of _aristos achaion!_ If you try to be heroes, the Gods will gut you like the heroes you truly are!”

She’s yelling at them, but Tsukishima gets the feeling this isn’t really about them at all.

It’s about Gods and heroes. Isn’t everything in Tsukishima’s life these days?

“I don’t care if I’m a hero.” Sakusa’s voice rumbles from his chest and seems to shake the entire world. “But I _am_ the son of Poseidon, and I won’t let you hurt the people I care about.”

Sakusa doesn’t just have storms in his eyes anymore. Sakusa is the storm itself.

Tsukishima and Kuroo cling onto each other in their dingy little lifeboat as the two powers of the sea battle using hurricanes as weapons around them.

Thetis’s screams are almost incoherent at this point, and it’s obvious that it’s taking all of Sakusa’s strength just to hold her back enough to stop her from destroying the whole area and dragging them all beneath the sea.

She’s still in pain. Even all this time later, a mother never stops mourning the loss of her son.

Sakusa’s trembling with effort, teeth grit and arms straining around Atsumu. He’s strong, but he’s almost at his limit, and Thetis is endlessly fueled by her rage.

They need to get out of here, like, yesterday.

Luckily, Sakusa bought Tsukishima just enough time to come up with a plan.

“Sakusa!” He shouts, but the chaos eats up his words. “SAKUSA!” He tries again, louder this time to be heard over the roaring waves and blustering winds. Finally, the son of Poseidon looks down at him. Tsukishima points exaggeratedly towards Thetis, to the spot just over her head to make his intentions clear. “The cave! We need to get out of here!”

He was sparing with his words and they didn’t make much sense, but Sakusa nods with a look of understanding and Tsukishima sighs in relief.

As much as it pains him to fail, their only chance of surviving now is to run.

Shifting Atsumu so that he’s being propped against his side and held up by one arm so that the other is free, Sakusa’s raises a hand towards Thetis. With all of the ease and control that Kuroo bends shadows at his feet, the waves bend to Sakusa’s will. They crash against the base of the cave, beating the rock relentlessly. Thetis is too distracted by her grief and the sounds of the raging sea to notice the boulders falling around her.

Pieces of the lifeboat have started to chip away, knocked off by the jagged rocks they keep crashing up against, and Tsukishima is soaked and shivering violently in Kuroo’s arms. The wound on Sakusa’s forehead that he had gotten from Medusa starts trickling fresh red blood from beneath the gauze taped to it, and Tsukishima knows they’re running on borrowed time at this point.

Finally, there’s a large break right in the center of the cave entrance. The cracking sound is so loud, it breaks through the chaos of the storm jarringly. Thetis drops her arms and looks up in realization the very moment that the entire thing collapses, closing the entire cave in with her underneath it.

The sea goes quiet.

Sakusa drops into the lifeboat, heavy with exhaustion but still refusing to let go of Atsumu. “That should give us time to get away, but it won’t hold her for long.”

“I know.” Tsukishima nods. “We just need time to get back to the _Argo.”_

They row quickly, Tsukishima taking a pair of oars this time to help Kuroo since Sakusa looks a moment away from collapsing the same way the cave had. He doesn’t have the upper body strength that the son of Poseidon does, but he rows like his life depends on it, until his shoulders and screaming in pain and his muscles are jelly.

Just as they’re pulling up alongside the _Argo_ and Goshiki is reaching down to take Atsumu from Sakusa’s arms and hoist him up, there’s a deafening scream, the sound of rock cracking, and the sea rumbles. Sakusa, Kuroo, and Tsukishima scramble quickly on board as well, Sakusa immediately taking Atsumu back from Goshiki.

“Death Boy,” Tsukishima grabs his boyfriend’s hands tightly. “Get us out of here?”

“Gladly.”

And with that, the entire world squeezes and shifts into darkness and Tsukishima’s stomach rolls unpleasantly as the entire _Argo II_ slips into the shadows.  
  
  


~*~

After spending a nice, healthy half an hour emptying the contents of his stomach over the side of the ship while Kuroo rubs his back apologetically, Lev informs Tsukishima that they’re now floating somewhere around a hundred (one hundred and sixteen point zero seven, to be exact) miles off the coast of the Dominican Republic.

“Sorry,” Kuroo says sheepishly. “I’ve never Shadow Travelled that much at once before. I was just aiming to get South and away from Thetis, but I guess my aim was a little off.”

Tsukishima assures him that he did perfectly, given the fact that he remembered to bring all seven of them and kept them all in one piece.

Atsumu wakes up not long after they land, sprawled out on the deck with his head in Sakusa’s lap and Yamaguchi kneeled by his side with jars of smelly herbs that he wafts under Atsumu’s nose to bring him back to consciousness. It works, and Atsumu takes in a gasping breath, eyes flying open and hands coming up to clutch at his own chest. 

Sakusa shushes him in a softer voice than Tsukishima has ever heard him use, hands on his shoulders and forcing him to lay back down.

He still looks understandably confused and alarmed for a few more seconds, blinking up at Sakusa, looking around to take in his position with his head in his lap and the rest of them standing around watching him, before his mouth stretches into a grin brighter than the summer sun on the hottest day.

“Omi… Did y’save me?”

Sakusa rolls his eyes and flicks Atsumu in the center of the forehead.

“I owed you one, that’s all.”

Atsumu blinks at him a few times, face going slack with surprise before stretching into a smile impossibly bigger than that last.

“Liar!” He accuses with a laugh. Sakusa looks like he’s about to throttle him, but the laugh devolves into a rough sounding cough. So instead, Sakusa sits him up, offers him a square of ambrosia, and pats him gently on the back - with no murderous intent whatsoever.

Miracles do happen after all.

Tsukishima can’t help but feel a little bit guilty, looking at the two of them all banged up as they are. He knows he isn’t responsible for them or what happens to them because they agreed to come on this quest of their own free will, but still, when he looks at the gauzy bandage stained with fresh blood on Sakusa’s forehead, and the way Atsumu struggles to keep his eyes open, it feels like his own perfectly unharmed person is mocking him.

There’s a touch at Tsukishima’s shoulder, both solid and light, warm and chilling at the same time. His stomach rolls unpleasantly when he realizes that it’s Kuroo’s hand, skin slightly grey and fading around the edges. Seeing the state his boyfriend is in only makes him feel a million times _worse._

“Shit,” Tsukishima curses, taking Kuroo’s hand between both of his like he can forcibly transfer his own warmth and life force into them. “This is my fault. I made you Shadow Travel too much and now you’re burning out.” He frowns, reaching up one hand to cup Kuroo’s sharp jaw.

“Ah, it’s not too bad. Nothing I can’t handle, anyways. Could just really -” Kuroo cuts himself off with a large yawn. “Could really use a nap,” he finishes sheepishly, tilting his head into Tsukishima’s hand, eyelids already starting to lower like he was planning on curling up in a ball and falling asleep in the middle of the deck.

Tsukishima puts an arm around Kuroo’s waist and leads him down to lay in bed instead.

It’s not long after Kuroo falls asleep, snoring lightly with his arm flung across Tsukishima’s stomach and his nose pressed into his cheek, that Tsukishima’s thoughts drift to Sakusa and Atsumu.

Not in _that_ way, though it certainly isn’t his proudest moment to be thinking of other guys while laying in bed with his boyfriend, no matter what the context of it is.

But Sakusa did just stop Thetis from turning them all into fish food and saved Atsumu from drowning, which some people might consider a good thing, so Tsukishima kind of owes him. (And, he did sort of accuse the son of Poseidon of trying to betray them. So there’s a little bit of residual guilt going into this decision, too.)

Tsukishima is going to say something.

He was lucky enough to have had a lot of people rooting for him and Kuroo to get together. People that gave him advice and helped him get out of his own way so that he could finally be happy with the boy that he loves. He’s merely paying the favor forward to Sakusa since apparently, children of Poseidon are just as hopeless when it comes to interpreting their own feelings as children of Athena.

But unlike Tsukishima, Sakusa doesn't have anyone to tell him otherwise. His best friend back at camp was Ushijima Wakatoshi, who was even more hopeless when it came to understanding emotions than Sakusa himself. Tsukishima is pretty sure he and Tendou were dating for like four months before Ushijima even realized it.

It can’t hurt to try and talk to Sakusa about Atsumu. And if things go horribly wrong, they’re all only stuck on a ship at sea together for the next six months.

Carefully, so as not to wake his sleepy shadow of a boyfriend, Tsukishima untangles himself from Kuroo’s limbs and slips out of the room and down the hall to stand outside Sakusa’s brand new cabin door. He knocks before he can talk himself out of it.

It’s a few seconds before Sakusa opens the door, mouth already opened like he was preparing to say something to whoever he thought was on the other side, only to shut it with a confused furrow to his dark brow when he sees who it actually is.

“Tsukishima.”

“Yeah, um. Nice door,” Tsukishima compliments, awkwardly patting the wood.

“Thank you,” Sakusa responds politely, though his eyebrows are still drawn together. “Did you need something?”

“Actually, I wanted to…talk.”

Gods, this is like pulling teeth.

“Ah. Do you want to…?” Sakusa trails off, opening his door wider and gesturing inside his room uncertainly.

“Yes,” Tsukishima agrees quickly. There’s no telling what corners Atsumu is hiding around out here.

For all of their similarities in personality, Tsukishima has rarely found himself in a one-on-one conversation with Sakusa Kiyoomi. This might actually be their first, if he’s honest. It’s not that they don’t get along or anything, it just never came up.

Sakusa sits on the bed first, and like a good host, offers the perfectly made corner for Tsukishima to perch himself on.

“Is everything all right?” Sakusa asks, confusion giving way to concern. Tsukishima shakes his head.

“No - I mean, yes! Everything is okay, it’s just, it could be better?”

Sakusa stares blankly at him. “So it’s… Not okay?”

“It’s,” Tsukishima sighs and rubs a hand over his face. This is a lot harder than he expected it to be. “Can I start over?”

Sakusa shrugs.

Tsukishima takes a deep breath and tries again.

“Have you ever taken a chance on someone?”

Sakusa’s eyes flash with something Tsukishima can’t name. “Not in recent memory, no.”

“Well, I have. I’ve taken a lot of them lately, actually. Big ones, too.”

Sakusa frowns. “You’re talking about Kuroo?”

“Surprisingly enough, I’m not. I’m talking about you guys. Well, not really you, specifically, but this whole crew. Believe me when I say that I had absolutely _no_ plans or desires to bring Goshiki, Lev, Yamaguchi, or Atsumu of all godsdamned people on this quest. I almost refused to bring any of them at all, but they all showed me that they wanted it. Proved to me that they wouldn’t let me down, and, well, they didn’t. Not yet, at least. So I guess all I’m trying to say is that sometimes if you give people chances, they pleasantly surprise you.”

It’s not his most eloquent appeal, but he thinks his message must have gotten through because Sakusa’s face is turning that shade of red that only Miya Atsumu can make it.

“Kuroo told you?” He guesses, not sounding angry, just resigned.

“You literally swan-dived to his rescue today without a single care in the world about what Thetis was going to do to you for it. It wasn’t that difficult to guess. Plus, I maybe overheard you and Kuroo in your room that day when you were building your door,” Tsukishima adds guiltily.

Miraculously, Sakusa only laughs. He has a nice laugh, throaty and rumbling like crashing waves. He should do it more often.

“I didn’t take you for a sneak, Tsukishima Kei.”

“It was honestly a complete accident. I didn’t mean to invade your privacy like that.”

Sakusa waves him off, sighing and flopping onto his back in a decidedly very un-Sakusa-like manner.

“It’s not your fault, I should’ve been more careful about it. I usually am.” He turns his head and looks over at Tsukishima with a serious gaze. “Tsukishima, you’re the smartest person I’ve ever met.”

Tsukishima flushes at the praise.

“Oh, um, thank -”

“So if you tell me that you aren’t lying to me, I’ll believe you.”

“- you. Um.” Tsukishima stutters. “Why would I be lying to you?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” Sakusa explains kindly. “I just want to make sure you aren’t just saying all of this because you think getting Atsumu and I together would make him happy.”

“Why would I do anything to make _him_ happy?”

“You obviously favor him.”

“I - What?” Tsukishima feels his face screw up in horror and shock. “I do _not_ favor Miya Atsumu!”

Sakusa cracks a grin and sits up on his elbow. “Oh? You came here to tell me something about my relationship with Atsumu, but it looks like the tables have turned.”

“Gross, I don’t have a relationship with Atsumu. Except for enemies.”

“Don’t be obtuse, Tsukishima, the two of you bicker just like -”

“Don’t say it!”

“- siblings.”

Tsukishima rears back like he’s been hit. “I don’t bicker with my siblings!”

Sakusa rolls his eyes. “Okay, maybe you, Sugawara, and Akaashi don’t bicker, but most siblings do. Just like you and Atsumu. It’s perfectly normal.”

“We are moving past this. Right now.”

Sakusa shrugs and falls on his back again, his dark curls fanning out around his face. Tsukishima thinks if Atsumu were lying next to him, his blonde waves would frame his own face in a perfect contrast, then swiftly wants to punch himself in the throat for having such a thought.

He doesn’t care about the state of Miya Atsumu’s love life. Really, he doesn’t. He just owes Sakusa one.

“You’re kind of funny, Tsukishima.” Sakusa says suddenly. Tsukishima blinks at him in surprise.

“Oh. Thanks, I guess?”

Sakusa laughs even though Tsukishima wasn’t trying to be funny. Maybe that’s what Sakusa finds so funny about him.

“You’re welcome. And no offense, but I’m pretty beat after today so I’m going to have to kick you out now.”

Tsukishima stands quickly. “Oh, right, sorry. I - Thank you, by the way. For today, I mean. Saving our lives and all that. I only wish it had gone better.”

“Would have been nice if it had been easier, but we got the job done.”

“What do you mean?” Tsukishima asks.“We didn’t get the chance to turn Thetis to our side. We failed.” He says miserably. Sakusa pauses where he had been pulling back his comforter to climb into bed.

“Tsukishima.” There’s a hand tapping his arm, asking him to look up and meet Sakusa’s inky black eyes. “We didn’t fail. Did you see the look on Thetis’s face when she talked about Achilles? Did you hear the things she was saying? I have a feeling she won’t be hurting any more demigods for a very long time.”

Tsukishima takes a moment to ponder Sakusa’s words.

Thetis told them from the very start that she didn’t like to hurt their kind. Tsukishima hadn’t even considered the implications of that until right now.

It was because demigods reminded her too much of Achilles.

He lets out a laugh, partly hysterical and partly relieved.

“We didn’t fail?”

“We didn’t,” Sakusa confirms, pulling the comforter up over his shoulders. “Now would you please get the lights on your way out?”

Tsukishima takes that as his very obvious cue to leave.

As he flicks the light switch off, a quiet voice comes from within the darkness of the room.

“You can feel free to come back and…talk any time you want.”

“Thanks, I think I will. And you can feel free tell Atsumu you’re in love with him and put us all out of our misery any time you want, too. Because I wasn’t lying to you.”

Sakusa doesn’t laugh this time, but it might be close.

“Good _night,_ Tsukishima.”  
  
  


~*~

Despite sneaking back into the room as quietly as he can, Tsukishima hears Kuroo stir and he sits up rubbing his eyes.

“Hey, babe. Where - Oh!” Kuroo lets out a surprised sound when Tsukishima makes his way across the room and practically launches himself into Kuroo’s lap, straddling his thighs and burying his face in the crook of his neck. Kuroo hums happily and quickly shifts to accommodate him, arms winding around his waist and kissing the top of his head. “What’s this all about?” He murmurs into Tsukishima’s hair.

Tsukishima can’t exactly put it into so many words, but all of the longing and pining in the air between Sakusa and Atsumu has really gotten to his head lately. Made him remember unpleasant feelings of hopelessness and heartache he’d rather forget.

“I’m just… Really happy we’re together now.”

“Awww, Tsukki,” Kuroo coos. He places a few teasing kisses on Tsukishima’s cheek before quieting and saying much more seriously, “I am, too. Happier than I’ve ever been about anything before in my life.”

Tsukishima smiles into his chest. “I love you.”

“I love you more.”

“Don’t turn it into a competition or I’ll have to destroy you.”

Kuroo laughs and it’s music to Tsukishima’s ears. Gravelly and rough and nothing like Sakusa’s smooth, rolling laughter, but still the best sound in the world to Tsukishima. Perfectly imperfect, like all of Tsukishima’s favorite Kuroo quirks.

The world suddenly spins around him as Kuroo flips them both over and hovers over Tsukishima with a blinding grin, looking much healthier and brighter than he had before.

“You can literally do anything in the world you want to me,” he informs Tsukishima, casually in the way only Kuroo can say such things that make Tsukishima’s heart race and his brain fuzzy.

“I’ve always wanted to try my hand at acupuncture.”

Kuroo shudders and sits back, pouting down at him.

“Not sexy, babe.”

Tsukishima smirks, wrapping his legs around Kuroo’s waist and flipping their positions again, laying Kuroo flat out on his back and sitting on his chest. Kuroo exhales sharply, eyes blown wide.

“Better?” Tsukishima teases, wiggling his hips and watching Kuroo’s eyes nearly roll back in his head.

“Much sexier. Ten out of ten.”

“How dare you rate me like I’m some prized cow and not even give me an eleven,” Tsukishima sniffs indignantly.

Kuroo barks out a laugh again, this one even more ridiculous than the last. His eyes scrunch up until his golden irises disappear almost completely, lips stretching into a brilliant smile. He’s such a loser, but at least he’s Tsukishima’s loser.

He slides his hands up Tsukishima’s back and guides him down so that he can press their lips together in a slow, unhurried kiss. Tsukishima pretends to be annoyed, but can’t hold out for more than a few seconds before he’s melting against Kuroo, laying on top of him, then rolling to lay beside him as their kisses grow more and more chaste until they peter out completely.

They fall quiet, laying side by side with their noses nearly pressed together, bright eyes searching each other out in the darkness.

Kuroo rests a warm, calloused palm on the side of Tsukishima’s face and ducks in to rest their foreheads together.

“There isn’t a number that’s been invented yet that can describe how beautiful you are to me, Kei.”

And Tsukishima kisses him again and again and again because he knows just how lucky he is that he can.  
  
  


~*~

“Tsukki?” Kuroo asks quietly, long after Tsukishima thought he had fallen asleep.

Tsukishima hums from his spot laying on Kuroo’s chest to let him know he’s listening.

“Did it…bother you? The stuff Thetis was saying about, you know, heroes and stuff? She kind of sounded like -”

“My mom?”

“Well… Yeah.”

Tsukishima isn’t surprised by the question. He had realized the same thing already, of course. Not like the only words his mom had ever said to him - well, through Apollo - were ingrained in his mind forever or anything.

_No son of mine would ever be ignorant enough to get himself involved with a hero. Not just one, but _two_ heroes. All they’ll ever do to those who love them is drain them like leeches, bleed them dry for their own cause, and then leave them._

They should put that on a Hallmark card or something. Real heartwarming stuff.

“And Thetis was just as wrong as Athena was,” Tsukishima answers finally. “Achilles didn’t die for the Gods or their approval. He didn’t die because he wanted to be a hero. He died for love, and there’s nothing shameful about that.”

Kuroo is a quiet for a long time after.

“Dying for love, huh? Guess there are worse ways to go.”

Tsukishima pokes him hard on the side. “Don’t go getting any big ideas there, _aristos achaion.”_

Kuroo gasps delightedly.

“You think I’m the greatest of the Greeks, Tsukki?”

“I think you’re the greatest pain in my ass of the Greeks,” he grumbles. _I think you’re the greatest of anyone, ever._ “Now go to sleep.”

Kuroo hums a few bars of Tsukishima’s favorite Smith’s song and brushes his fingers through the curls behind Tsukishima’s ear.

“You’re _aristos achaion_ to me, too.”  
  
  


~*~

The book Tsukishima had been reading is laying dog-eared on the bedside table (a crime against humanity, in his opinion, but apparently not Kuroo’s - especially when he’s in a hurry) and his fingers are clutching the sheets so tightly his knuckles are turning white. Kuroo’s hands are mapping blistering trails of pleasure across his chest, the narrow dips of his hips, the sensitive skin of his inner thighs.

He’s burning, every nerve ending on his body catching wildfire. His legs fall further open of their own accord and Kuroo makes an approving sound into Tsukishima’s mouth, where his tongue has currently taken up residence.

“There you go,” Kuroo murmurs, grabbing the back of one of Tsukishima’s thighs and pushing it open even further. Slowly, agonizingly slowly until Tsukishima’s trembling and he doesn’t know if it’s from the strain on his muscles or the anticipation. “That’s it, so good for me, Kei.”

Tsukishima absolutely does _not_ whimper at the praise.

He…whines. Only slightly.

Still, it’s enough to make Kuroo chuckle against his lips. Tsukishima frees one hand from its death-grip on the sheets and wraps his fingers in Kuroo’s nightmarish mess of midnight hair instead. The strands are soft and slightly tangled and when he pulls it makes Kuroo let out a sound that suggests he’s just been punched in the solar plexus.

 _“Fuck,_ you’re gonna kill me, baby.”

Tsukishima tries to laugh but it comes out as more of a gasp when Kuroo’s long, deft fingers hook around the waistband of his boxers - the only article of clothing he has left.

“Not - Not if you _do_ something, already.”

Kuroo tuts at him and snaps the waistband against his hip instead of going any further.

“So impatient. I’ve been spoiling you, haven’t I?”

Tsukishima presses his lips together and refuses to answer. Probably because they both know the answer is unequivocally _’yes’_ because there isn’t a single thing in bed that Tsukishima could ask for that Kuroo wouldn’t give him with absolutely zero hesitation.

Kuroo’s grin sharpens, taking one of Tsukishima’s slender wrists easily into his hand and holding it against the bed above his head. Tsukishima chokes on an inhale that’s too fast and mostly consists of the saliva pooling under his tongue.

“Maybe I should teach you to be more patient.” His lips trail the shell of Tsukishima’s ear. “What do you think?”

_Yes, yes, yes, please, for the love of Aphrodite, YES!_

…Is what Tsukishima would have said, if it wasn’t for the very loud, almost muffled-sounding explosion that came from above at that very moment, accompanied by two very familiar sounding yelps.

Kuroo pulls back quickly, eyes bright and alert, with almost no residual hazy pleasure. Tsukishima blinks back up at him, a little slower on the come down.

“We should probably -”

“Yeah, yeah, get off of me, where are my pants?”

In total, it probably takes them all of fifteen seconds to dress themselves to a state of somewhat decency and sprint up the stairs to the top deck.

The second Tsukishima steps onto the deck, his feet slip and go flying out from underneath him.

“Woah!” Kuroo is luckily right behind him and catches him with a solid hand at the small of his back and one on his shoulder. “What’s going…on?”

His words trail off slowly, a crooked grin taking over his features as he peers around Tsukishima and takes in the scene.

There are bubbles, _everywhere._ Catching the evening sunlight and throwing little rainbows of light, covering every inch of the deck so that instead of being made out of wood, the _Argo II_ looks like it’s floating on a cloud. Everyone else is already there, too. Goshiki is tossing clumps of bubbles into the air and slashing at them with his sword gleefully, while Sakusa is trying (in vain) to brush the suds off of his clothing. Yamaguchi and Lev are standing together, the son of Hermes with pink cheeks and looking down at his feet guiltily while Atsumu is doubled over with laughter in front of them.

Yamaguchi sighs, but it looks like he’s trying not to crack a smile. Carefully, with their elbow interlocked so they don’t slip and fall, Kuroo and Tsukishima make their way over. The bubbles are so high, they reach just above their knees. If Hinata was here, they’d probably end up losing him forever.

“ - really, really sorry!” Lev is saying to Yamaguchi with a pout as they approach, while Atsumu continues to crack up.

“What in Hades happened up here?” Tsukishima demands.

Yamaguchi crosses his arms and elbows Lev, though Tsukishima can tell there’s no real force behind it.

“Lev offered to help me with the dishes after dinner and accidentally spilled an entire jug of dish soap into the full sink.”

“Nice one, _Levochka,”_ Atsumu snickers.

“I said I was sorry! It’s not my fault, my hands were all slippery!”

Tsukishima wants to be mad, really he does. But, well, in the grand scheme of things, he just considers it a win that Lev’s clumsiness didn’t cost anyone a limb or anything.

Plus… It’s admittedly a little hard to be angry with Goshiki laughing and swinging his sword around like a maniac, and Atsumu giggling like a little kid, pinching Lev’s pink cheeks. Even Sakusa has apparently given up on getting rid of the bubbles, and is hesitantly crouched down poking at them, looking pleased with himself when they arrange themselves into simple animal shapes at his command.

He shares a look with Yamaguchi who shrugs helplessly, a grin tugging at his lips.

“Well… At least nobody was hurt.”

Lev’s head snaps up to look at Tsukishima, eyes shining hopefully.

“You’re not mad? Really, Tsukishima?”

“Really, Tsukki?” Kuroo parrots, quirking an amused eyebrow.

Tsukishima huffs and ignores his boyfriend’s fingers teasingly poking at his cheek.

“It’s not like anyone was going to clean up around here any other way.”

Lev cheers and hugs Tsukishima even though he did _not_ ask for permission to do so, but… Tsukishima lets it slide. Atsumu throws him a quick wink before tackling his brother to the ground, both of them disappearing into the bubbles until Lev’s head finally comes up, laughing and gasping for air with suds stuck in his silver hair and his eyebrows, making him look like a gangly old man.

They spend the rest of the evening like that: Lev and Atsumu play fighting, Goshiki seeing how many bubbles he can pop with his sword before they fall to the ground, and Sakusa’s animal designs growing bigger and more intricate, even going so far as moving around at one point. 

Kuroo clears away a patch for him, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi to sit in together, and they take turns giving each other the stupidest looking makeovers using the bubbles.

Nobody brings up saving the world or what they’re going to do next. Not even once. It’s nice.

It’s not until Tsukishima notices that Lev has taken a break from wrestling with Atsumu and is now standing off to the side, watching them all with a peaceful smile, that he realizes what happened. He excuses himself from Kuroo and Yamaguchi, shakes the suds out of his hair, and makes his way over to the son of Hermes. 

He doesn’t say anything right away, just stands with Lev and observes as Kuroo and Yamaguchi beckon Goshiki over and start decorating his bowl cut with a soapy crown, and Atsumu gets chased around by one of Sakusa’s bubble animals shaped like a lion while laughing wildly.

“It wasn’t an accident, was it?”

Lev hums under his breath, smile not budging an inch.

“Heroes deserve to act like dumb teenagers, too, sometimes. Don’t you think?”

Tsukishima looks over at him, lips parting slightly. _If you take a chance on people, sometimes they pleasantly surprise you._

Across the deck, Sakusa’s bubble animal suddenly drops to the ground and rubs at his eye irritatedly.

“Atsumu,” he calls sweetly. “I think I got some soap in my eye. Can you come help me with it real quick?” 

To anyone else, the tone of his voice would immediately be a red flag, but Atsumu is too distracted by it to even notice. With a blissful obliviousness Tsukishima could only dream of, he joins Sakusa and gently pries his hands away from his face, checking his eyes for him.

“Really? I don’t see any - Ack!”

Atsumu shouts in surprise when Sakusa’s hand sneaks up behind him and deposits a heaping handful of bubbles right on top of his head. They sit in a little lopsided pile, like a crooked beehive hair-do. He stares at Sakusa with a look of blatant betrayal, shock, and…pride.

Not even a moment later, Sakusa’s face cracks into a blinding smile. Kuroo, Yamaguchi, and Goshiki’s laughter is suddenly filling the air, and Atsumu quickly joins in, still looking at Sakusa like he was holding the sun. They all look so much younger than he’s seen them in a long time. As young as they were they day he met them.

“Yeah, Lev,” Tsukishima lets his lips curl into a devious smirk. “I think they do.”

And then, he smacks a handful of bubbles right into Lev’s face. Lev shrieks, but it quickly dissolves into laughter, and Tsukishima can feel his own face pulling into a smile so big, it hurts his cheeks. 

Gods, it’s been so long since he felt like this. Light, and carefree, and…bubbly.

When the sun finally starts to go down and their stomachs are all hurting from laughing so hard, Sakusa advises everyone to hold onto something solid and washes a huge wave on board, cleaning all the bubbles from the deck and leaving it sparkling clean. One by one, they all bid each other good night and head to their cabins, until only Tsukishima and Kuroo are left standing at the railing, looking at the moon’s reflection across the water.

“I want…” Tsukishima starts slowly. Kuroo hugs him from behind and rests his chin on Tsukishima’s shoulder with an inquisitive sound. “I want to win. I want to stop this war.”

Kuroo chuckles. “I think that’s what we all want, sweetheart.”

“No.” Tsukishima shakes his head vehemently. “I _really_ want it now, more than ever. I’ve been so tired and stressed out lately, that I almost forgot why I wanted to save the world in the first place. I forgot how much fun being alive could be. With you. With all of you. It’s been bothering me, ever since Thetis asked Sakusa why this world was worth saving, because I haven’t been able to come up with a single answer. The world is a messed up place, and I guess I just… Needed a reminder of all the good things and the good people. That there _is_ a reason this world is still worth saving.”

“Hm?” Kuroo locks his fingers together over Tsukishima’s abdomen and turns his face further to press into his neck. “And what’s that, Smarty Pants?”

“Don’t laugh,” Tsukishima warns.

Kuroo kisses underneath his jaw and makes a vague sound of agreement.

“It’s… It’s love, isn’t it? Love and friendship and getting to laugh together and be _happy_ together with the people you care about. Even if it’s just for a moment, I think that one moment is worth saving the entire world for.”

Kuroo doesn’t say anything again for a few moments too long, and when he starts making muffled sounds into Tsukishima’s neck, he thinks his boyfriend is trying to hide his laughter. Tsukishima feels his face starting to heat up and he’s just preparing to shove Kuroo off of him and storm away when he hears a sniffle and realizes that his skin where Kuroo’s face is pressed against is…damp.

“Are you… Are you crying right now?”

“No!” Kuroo insists, but his choked up voice gives him away.

“You are!” Tsukishima laughs, pulling away enough to see Kuroo’s watery eyes and red nose. “Why are you crying, you dork?” He asks more softly, clumsily wiping some of the tears from Kuroo’s cheeks.

“That was just so beautiful, Kei,” he sniffles. “I mean, you just put every child of Aphrodite to shame with that one. Are you sure _you’re_ not a child of Aphrodite? All that talk about love and laughter… Shit.” He breaks off on another watery sounding laugh.

Tsukishima turns in his arms so that they’re face to face now, the sea at his back and Kuroo’s chest to his front.

“It’s mostly you,” he admits in a small whisper. Kuroo stops breathing, as if to make sure that he hears every word Tsukishima says next. “The reason I wanted to save the world from the very beginning, Tetsurou, of course it’s you. The world can’t end now, because we haven’t had enough time yet. There are still so many things I want to do with you, so many more moments and so much more laughter and happiness and -”

Tsukishima is sure he could have gone on forever and ever about all the things he still wants to do with Kuroo, but luckily the son of Hades cuts him off by grabbing him fully by the face and pulling him in for a feverish kiss. Deep and slow and so full of - of - _everything_ that it makes Tsukishima want to cry, but Kuroo is already doing enough of that for the both of them. Kuroo’s lips move against his like a promise, and Tsukishima responds the best he can. _I love you, I love you, and I’ll love you forevermore._

“You taste like soap,” Tsukishima gasps out when they finally have to part for air.

“Sorry.” Kuroo laughs and starts to pull away. Tsukishima grabs him by the fabric of his shirt and hauls him back in until their lips are barely a hairsbreadth apart.

“I didn’t say I wanted you to stop.”

And so, Kuroo doesn’t.  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh this chapter was such a ride i hope u liked it!! im exhausted from just writing about it!!
> 
> let me know what u thought in the comments and come be my friend on [twitter!](https://twitter.com/oiiblondie)


	3. spring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like fine china that had built up a million tiny cracks over the years and was just waiting for the tiniest push to break, Tsukishima shattered completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> enjoy and also im sorry <3
> 
> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/oiiblondie)

  
  
  


Goshiki’s sword collides with Tsukishima’s with a loud _clanging_ sound that mingles with Yamaguchi and Lev’s shouts of encouragement in the sea-salty air.

Tsukishima huffs and falters back a step while Goshiki grins sharply at him. He’s lucky he even managed to block the blow, if he’s honest, with how quick and deadly Goshiki is on the attack. Nothing to be done about their difference in strength, though. Goshiki has approximately ten years of Daichi’s insane muscle-building program on him.

“Come on, Tsukki, you got him!” Yamaguchi cheers.

A drop of sweat snakes its way between Tsukishima’s eyebrows and down the bridge of his nose and he wants desperately to wipe it away, but if he lets up for even a second, Goshiki is going to knock his lights out. Instead, he grits his teeth and plants his back foot and pushes back where his sword and Goshiki’s are locked together.

Goshiki’s smile stretches wider.

“That’s it, dig deep! Fight me like I’m Thanatos himself!”

They both know Tsukishima isn’t strong enough to kill Goshiki, even if he actually wanted to, but just the mention of Thanatos’ name gives Tsukishima a little extra burst of strength. He pushes until he’s not being held down by Goshiki at all, and instead they stand toe-to-toe.

Just when it looks like Tsukishima might be able to maneuver himself into the upper-hand, Goshiki pulls a quick spin move, thrusting Tsukishima’s sword out of his hand and onto the deck. He somehow ends up behind Tsukishima, and a well-placed kick to the back of his knees sends him sprawling to the ground.

“Screw you,” Tsukishima grunts through the pain in his knees and his hips and his ego. He glances back over his shoulder, where the late morning sunlight is making Goshiki glow like a celestial being. The son of Ares grins and lets Tsukishima roll onto his back, offering him a hand to help him stand.

“That was really close!” Yamaguchi calls. “You’re really improving, Tsukki!”

“Yeah, you didn’t even cry that time!” Lev adds. Goshiki snickers and Tsukishima snatches his hand away when he’s steady on his feet again.

“It’s just your body’s natural reaction to tear-up when you get hit in the nose,” Tsukishima snaps, shoving Goshiki’s shoulder when his laughter doesn’t stop. “You guys are the worst.”

“Aw, come on!” Goshiki slings an arm around his shoulder, and Tsukishima is annoyed to realize that he’s barely broken a sweat. “Yamaguchi is right, you really are getting better. Let’s go again?”

Tsukishima rolls his shoulders and winces at the burn in his biceps. He’s been battle training for long enough to know when he’s reached his limits, and this is definitely it for him.

“Yeah,” he says. “Let’s go again.”

They go another round, until Goshiki knocks him down once more, then, helps him to his feet, and they start all over again. The sun is at the highest point in the sky now, and Tsukishima can feel his cheeks starting to burn under the power of its rays. Most of the time, Tsukishima is happy that Kuroo Shadow-Travelled them all so far South, so they could spend the majority of the winter sailing up the coast through the Caribbean. Times like these, though, when sweat soaks his clothes and his skin is sticky and burned, he almost wishes for the cold.

Another half an hour in, Tsukishima can barely raise his arms, but Goshiki doesn’t let up even a little bit. Tsukishima likes that about training with him. Usually, by this point, Kuroo would be taking pity on him and going too easy, and Atsumu would have grown bored at the lack of challenge that Tsukishima posed and found something else to do. Never Goshiki, though. He always fought Tsukishima down to the very last second with every once of his strength.

Eventually, though, Tsukishima’s body decides for him that he’s taken enough beatings for today. He flops onto his back and doesn’t get back up again.

Yamaguchi tosses Goshiki two water bottles from the sidelines, and the son of Ares plops down next to Tsukishima and offers him one. Tsukishima takes it gratefully, struggling to sit up.

“I’m gonna end up sparing Thanatos the trouble of having to kill me at this rate,” he groans at the burning in every muscle in his body.

Goshiki laughs and pats Tsukishima on the back just a little too hard, the way Bokuto always does. The familiar stinging feeling left behind leaves Tsukishima feeling more sad than annoyed.

Goshiki opens his mouth, probably to feed Tsukishima more fiery words of encouragement, but stops short. His eyebrows furrow at something over Tsukishima’s shoulder.

“Who is Sakusa talking to?”

Tsukishima follows his line of sight, equally, if not more, confused. He had been so busy trying not to get skewered by Goshiki’s blades, he hadn’t even noticed Sakusa come up onto the deck. But sure enough, just behind him, the son of Poseidon was leaning over the ship’s railing, face a picture of intense concentration, nodding to himself.

“Do you think it’s Poseidon?” Goshiki adds, eyes going slightly starry.

“I don’t know.” Tsukishima uses Goshiki’s head as leverage to push himself to his feet, ignoring the other boy’s grumbling. “I’m gonna go find out. You stay here.”

“Bossy,” Goshiki complains, finger-combing his dark hair flat again.

Tsukishima approaches Sakusa carefully, not wanting to startle him or potentially the God of the Ocean himself. He’s seen what Sakusa can do to a thick, wooden door when caught off guard and he really doesn’t need a repeat performance aimed at his head.

When he’s finally at Sakusa’s side, the other boy not seeming to mind his presence, he peers over the edge of the ship.

What he sees is… Well. He has to blink a few times to make sure he’s not imagining things.

“Sakusa,” Tsukishima starts slowly. “What…are those things?”

Sakusa holds up a finger to the creatures in the water, as if to politely ask them, _one moment, please._

“Don’t be rude, Tsukishima. They can hear you, you know.”

“Oh. Sorry?”

“That’s alright. To answer your question, they’re hippocampus.” Sakusa gives him a hint of a smile. “Surely you’ve read about them in one of those books of yours at some point?”

Tsukishima takes another peek at the animals. At first glance, they looked just like regular horses with their chests and heads sticking out above the water. But upon closer inspection, they had shimmering rainbow fishtails propelling them through the water, splashing behind them. He _had_ read about them in plenty of books, but it was one thing to know about a half-horse, half-fish creature in theory, and another thing completely to see them swimming alongside you.

“Were you just talking to them?”

Sakusa shakes his head. “Don’t be ridiculous, I can’t speak hippocampus. They were talking to me.”

“But… You understood them?”

“Yes.” Sakusa frowns. “They were warning us.”

Tsukishima sighs. It’s been weeks since things last went wrong, he had been expecting something like this to pop up pretty soon.

“Warning us about what?” He asks warily.

Sakusa holds up a finger, this time to Tsukishima, and turns back to the hippocampus. He nods a few more times before the hippocampus are splashing away.

“An island of Sirens,” Sakusa finally answers. “We’re en route to sail right past it in a few days.”

“Of course we are. Any way around it?”

“We’re already skirting the edges of the Bermuda Triangle as it is. We can discuss alternatives with Lev, but I’m quite certain we’ll only end up running across even worse monsters if we change our course.”

Tsukishima wipes the sweat from his forehead and crosses his arms contemplatively.

“Flying anywhere near the Bermuda Triangle would be even more dangerous. I don’t think Zeus would strike us down, but the Wind Gods are still on Thanatos’ side for now, and I don’t really wanna personally find out what happens to all those planes that go missing over there.”

Sakusa nods in agreement. When Tsukishima doesn’t speak again for a few moments, he smiles. “You already have a plan, don’t you?”

“I have a few ideas, but I think I can get us through this.”

Sakusa shrugs one shoulder delicately, turning back to the sea.

“I wasn’t worried. I know you will.”  
  
  


~*~

There’s a small library aboard the _Argo II_ where Tsukishima spends most of his free time, reading and planning and just generally trying to get away from the noise and chaos of the rest of the ship. He doesn’t know if the room was actually designed to be a library, or if it was just an extra room that someone decided along the way to turn into a library, but when Tsukishima came across it, there were already a few books there and a table with notepads and pencils on it. Slightly charred from the original _Argo II_ being blown out of the sky, but it seemed to have survived the worst of the crash.

He thinks maybe another child of Athena must have been here before him. It’s a good thing he brought most of his own books though, since most of the ones left behind are about architecture. Interesting, but not very helpful.

A well-worn copy of Homer’s _Odyssey_ is spread open on the table in front of him, one hand taking notes on how Odysseus was able to get his crew safely past the Island of the Sirens.

Unlike most days, also at the table with their own noses buried in books are Kuroo, Yamaguchi, Sakusa, and Atsumu. When Tsukishima said he was going to the library to do some research, Kuroo wrapped himself around him like an octopus and begged Tsukishima to let him come, too, promising he would be quiet and not bother him. He was in a clingy mood today, apparently, and once Yamaguchi overheard, he of course wanted to be included, too. Sakusa insisted on helping out, and once Atsumu realized that Sakusa was going to be there, he tagged along as well.

The room wasn’t really built for this many people, and people’s knees kept bumping into Tsukishima’s under the table (Kuroo’s on purpose), but he found he didn’t really mind the extra company. Except for, that is, when Atsumu sneezed right into his favorite copy of _‘Magical Creatures & Mythical Beasts’._

It’s been maybe an hour of relative silence when Kuroo suddenly makes a surprised little sound in his throat and bangs on the table for everyone’s attention.

“Woah, you guys I just found the craziest thing!” He’s holding the open book up to his face with wide eyes.

“What is it?” Tsukishima cranes his neck to try and peek at whatever has Kuroo so excited.

“Okay, so, I was reading up on that guy Zephyros to see if I could find anything we can use to bargain with him, right? And do you remember how Apollo seemed to have some sort of personal grudge against him? It turns out, Apollo and Zephyros used to be in love with the same guy, some Spartan mortal named Hyacinthus. But Hyacinthus loved Apollo back, and it made Zephyros so jealous that when Apollo and Hyacinthus were playing discus together one day, he made the winds blow the discus so that it hit Hyacinthus in the head and killed him.”

“A game consisting of throwing concrete slabs at each other got a man killed? Shocking,” Sakusa deadpans. Atsumu snickers, but Tsukishima ignores them.

“Okay, so how can we use that?” It feels kind of dirty using some poor guy’s death to their advantage but, well, desperate times.

“There’s an illustration in here, of Hyacinthus.” Kuroo finally places the book down in the middle of the table so they can all see. “Remind you of anyone we know?”

It doesn’t take Tsukishima more than a glance down at the page to realize who Kuroo is talking about. If he didn’t know any better, he would probably think the illustration was this person themselves.

Dark, intense eyes framed by thick brows, a straight nose and full mouth, black curls tumbling across his forehead and into his eyes.

“Wow,” Yamaguchi breathes quietly. Tsukishima looks up at Sakusa across the table at the same time the son of Poseidon looks up at him. He looks startled by the picture, a hand reaching up for his face almost subconsciously, as if to make sure it’s still his own.

“Yeah,” Tsukishima nods slowly, squeezing Kuroo’s knee appreciatively under the table. “We can use this. If we have Sakusa be the one to talk to Zephyros, he might be so distracted by his face, he’ll agree to stand down.”

“Um, hold on a second.” Atsumu raises his hands to pause the conversation. “Didn’t Zephyros _kill_ Hyacinthus the first time around? How do we know he won’t take one look at Omi and start pelting discuses…es.”

“Zephyros loved Hyacinthus,” Kuroo argues. “He only killed him because he was jealous and couldn’t have him.”

Atsumu stands suddenly, chair making a loud scraping noise across the floor. “Well, he can’t have Omi, either!”

“Obviously!” Kuroo stands as well, glaring. “We don’t need Zephyros to fall in love with Sakusa, we just need him to be…distracted by him.”

Atsumu’s jaw drops. “You are _not_ using Omi as a _honey trap!”_

Yamaguchi holds up a finger. “What’s a honey trap?”

“It’s an espionage tactic where you send in an attractive agent to form a false relationship with a target that you need information from,” Tsukishima supplies. Atsumu’s scowl deepens.

“No way!” He plants one hand on his hip and gestures wildly to the book. “That - That doesn’t even look that much like him!”

Suddenly, the door to the library goes flying open and Goshiki and Lev poke their heads inside, a stark contrast of bright silver and inky black.

“Aha, there you all are!” Goshiki points an accusing finger at the room in general.

“Hey,” Lev says, cocking his head to the side and peering down at the book. “That’s a really nice picture of Sakusa.”

Kuroo gives Atsumu a smug look. Atsumu looks about a half second away from bursting a blood vessel. He turns to Tsukishima, eyes pleading, and Tsukishima realizes that they’re all waiting on him to make a decision.

“There has to be another way, Kei,” Atsumu practically begs him. “You can come up with another way, I know you can.”

Tsukishima is very aware of Kuroo’s eyes on him, as well as everyone else in the room. His skin feels hot beneath his collar and he chews on his bottom lip as he thinks it over. Finally, he looks over at Sakusa, who hasn’t said a word throughout the entire ordeal.

“It’s up to you,” Tsukishima says. “This idea is our best chance at swaying Zephyros’ allegiance and getting the Wind Gods on our side, but from what we can tell, Zephyros is unpredictable and petty. It’ll be dangerous. I’ll let you decide.”

Kuroo’s mouth downticks at the corners and Atsumu gives him a betrayed look that makes Tsukishima feel like he’s just been kicked in the gut, but they both drop back into their seats. Sakusa is quiet, his eyes searching Tsukishima’s. He flashes back to the other day, when Sakusa warned him about the Sirens and said that he wasn’t worried at all because he trusted Tsukishima to get them through it.

“I’ll do it.”

Tsukishima refuses to look at Atsumu’s expression in that moment.

After that, Yamaguchi forces a cheerful smile and tells everyone it’s time for lunch. Slowly, everyone begins to file out of the room. Tsukishima is still putting away his books when he sees Atsumu and Kuroo reach the doorway at the same time. There’s a brief moment of… _something,_ before Atsumu is shouldering roughly past Kuroo and walking out of the room first.  
  
  


~*~

Sakusa greets Tsukishima at breakfast one morning with nothing more than a simple, “It’s going to be today.”

Immediately, Tsukishima feels his scrambled eggs do somersaults in his stomach. The Island of Sirens. He had almost forgotten, a little too distracted by working with Sakusa to come up with a plan to get Zephyros on their side and the weird tension between Kuroo and Atsumu lately.

Ever since that day in the library, it’s been impossible not to notice the changes in the dynamic of their group. 

Kuroo and Atsumu were easily the most domineering personalities on the ship, and when the two of them got along and worked as a team, it brought them all closer together. But when there was a disagreement between them…

Their pissing contest will have to wait, though. Dealing with the Sirens is a little bit more important.

Tsukishima spends the morning gathering all the supplies they’ll need and asks Sakusa to get everyone together up on deck. One by one as they make their way up top, he hands them each a small ball of wax.

“What the heck is this?” Goshiki asks, nose wrinkled as he squishes it between his fingers. Lev giggles and whispers something in his ear that makes Goshiki laugh as well. Probably some immature joke about the wax looking like snot, or some other bodily fluid. Tsukishima really doesn’t want to know.

“It’s wax from a bunch of candles I found around the ship and melted down,” Tsukishima answers. “The men aboard Odysseus’s ship used beeswax to plug their ears when they sailed past the Siren’s island, but we didn’t have any beeswax, so I improvised. Most candles are made of soy wax, which has the same properties as beeswax.”

“Clever,” Kuroo praises. “So why don’t you have any?”

Everyone goes quiet as they take note of Kuroo’s observation. True enough, Tsukishima is the only one without a ball of wax.

Tsukishima shifts his weight, unable to meet their gazes. “I… I read that Odysseus left his ears un-plugged and had his men tie him to a mast so that he could hear the Siren’s song. The sorceress Circe told him that if you could survive listening to their song, they would reveal secrets to you. Secrets about your heart’s greatest desires, and possibly even about the future. The Sirens might be able to tell me how to stop this war.”

Kuroo frowns, eyebrows drawing together. “You said _if_ you survive listening to their song.”

Tsukishima shrugs. “If you tie me up tight enough and my mind doesn’t completely crack and leave me an insane shell of a human being, I should be fine.”

Someone gulps loudly in the resulting silence. Tsukishima dares a glance at Kuroo’s face and finds his boyfriend’s expression a mess of emotions. Before he can even begin to interpret them, Kuroo is shoving his ball of wax into Goshiki’s hands and crossing his arms over his chest decisively.

“Then I’m listening, too.”

“What? No, you don’t have to -”

“Me, too!” Goshiki declares, passing off the ball of wax to Lev. Lev looks down at it and ponders for a second, before nodding decisively and passing it to Atsumu.

“So am I.”

“I wouldn’t mind being shown my greatest desires.” Atsumu waggles his eyebrows suggestively before giving the growing ball of wax to Sakusa.

Sakusa sighs before passing it off to Yamaguchi. “The more of us that listen, the greater the chance that we’ll hear something of use.”

Tsukishima looks around at the group of them, mouth still hanging slightly open in shock.

Kuroo grins crookedly. “You didn’t think we were really gonna let you do this alone, did you?”

“I - That was my plan?” Tsukishima shakes his head, mind still trying to catch up to the changing situation. “We can’t _all_ listen, someone has to be in their right mind to make sure none of us get lose, or in case something goes wrong.”

All eyes slowly drift towards Yamaguchi, the final recipient of the wax ball. He smiles and shrugs with one shoulder.

“I was going to offer, anyways. I’m usually the only one in their right mind around here anyways,” he teases with a twinkle in his brown eyes. “Plus, I think we’re going to need something a little stronger than rope to keep everyone tied down.” He warily eyes Kuroo and Sakusa.

“You have something in mind?” Tsukishima asks. Yamaguchi beams and pats him on the shoulder.

“Don’t you worry, Tsukki. I can take it from here.”  
  
  


~*~

The first sign they get that the island of Sirens is approaching is the cloud of fog that wraps around the ship like a ghostly blanket. The temperature drops at least twenty degrees, and the sun disappears from sight. The entire world around them is grey and damp and cold.

Tsukishima wishes he could huddle up against Kuroo for warmth, but the ropes biting into his wrists and arms and ankles remind him that he can’t. His glasses are starting to cloud up with condensation and goosebumps prickle across his skin. He glances over at Kuroo, tied to the mast next to him, and his boyfriend gives him a reassuring grin.

On his other side, Goshiki and Lev are tied up in a similar manner, and on Kuroo’s other side are Sakusa and Atsumu.

“We’re getting close,” Lev says suddenly. Sakusa nods in agreement, and Yamaguchi pulls two pieces of wax from the ball and stuffs them into his ears.

“Can you hear anything?” Tsukishima asks, moving his lips exaggeratedly so that Yamaguchi can read them. Yamaguchi shakes his head, gives Tsukishima a thumbs up, and reaches for his strawberry plant.

Immediately, his hands start glowing fresh-grass green, and in the blink of an eye, there are thick vines reinforcing the ropes wrapped around them. Tsukishima tugs at his binds, satisfied with their hold. He sees Kuroo and Sakusa doing the same, struggling for a few moments, but completely unable to move. Yamaguchi flashes them a self-satisfied grin.

They all wait with their breath held in their throats. Tsukishima’s pulse jumps every time his ears pick up even the slightest of sounds, and for a long while there’s nothing but the white noise of waves crashing against the bow of the ship.

And then… Like an echoing whisper on the wind, the Siren’s voices drift through the air.

Tsukishima turns instinctively to meet Kuroo’s eye, and finds him already looking back.

“Kei…”

Kuroo doesn’t finish his thought, or maybe he just wanted to say Tsukishima’s name. Just in case.

Whatever the reason, Tsukishima doesn’t get the chance to find out. The first notes of the Siren’s song pierces the silence, and the rest of the world goes dark.  
  
  


~*~

Yamaguchi is crying.

Tsukishima looks down and realizes that the vines have disappeared and he’s been cut free from his bindings, so he rushes forward and shakes his friend gently by the shoulders, kneeling in front of him on the ground. Yamaguchi’s face is red and splotchy, sobs gasping out of him as tears stream freely down his cheeks. Tsukishima doesn’t know how long he’s been crying, or how long his bindings had been cut free before he came to.

“Hey, look at me.” Tsukishima taps his cheek lightly to try and get Yamaguchi to meet his eyes. “What happened? Was the wax not strong enough? Did you hear something?”

Yamaguchi bites his lip and shakes his head, eyes still lowered. “N-No, it wuh-wasn’t the wax. I - I couldn’t hear anything but…” He looks up finally, and the haunted look on his face makes Tsukishima’s blood run cold. “I did-didn’t account for the fact that I would still be able t-to see you.” His eyes drift over Tsukishima’s shoulder for a brief second, as the rest of the crew regain their bearings and come to gather around them. “The - The looks on your faces, when you were screaming, and cr-crying, and begging me to set you free… I’ve never seen anything so heartbreaking in my life.”

“I’m sorry,” Tsukishima croaks, feeling Kuroo’s hand land comfortingly on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, we never should have made you go through that alone.”

Yamaguchi smiles, sad and wobbly, and lays a hand on the side of Tsukishima’s cheek.

“It’s not me that I feel sorry for, Tsukki.”

Tsukishima’s hands fall limply from Yamaguchi’s shoulders and he sits back quietly. Slowly, everyone else sits as well, so that they’re all facing each other in a loose circle.

There’s still a light fog in the air, and the setting sun cuts through in patches of fiery red. Nobody says anything for a long while, and Tsukishima pulls his knees to his chest and leans against Kuroo’s side, desperate for human touch and warmth. Kuroo puts an arm around him and pulls him closer.

“What did you all see?” Yamaguchi finally asks in a whisper. 

The question hangs heavy in the air, everyone shifting in their seats and refusing to meet each other’s eyes, like a bunch of students not wanting the teacher to call on them in class. When it becomes clear after a few minutes that no one is going to answer, Atsumu sighs loudly, cutting through the tense atmosphere.

“I saw my stupid brother,” he says. “But if any of you dares to ever tell him, I’ll put scorpions in your pillowcase,” he warns, pointing a threatening finger at them all.

“Just scorpions?” Lev muses. “Totally worth it. I’m gonna call Osamu right after this.”

“Brat,” Atsumu grumbles, kicking Lev across the circle. “You always liked him better.”

Their bickering reminds Tsukishima of himself and Sugawara, and he’s hit with a wave of homesickness for the Athena cabin and all of his siblings.

“What about you, Omi?” Atsumu nudges Sakusa’s knee with his. “Get any visions of this pretty face, huh? Did ya?”

Sakusa scoffs and turns his face away, but Tsukishima catches the pink creeping across his cheeks. “Not even.”

“You didn’t say I wasn’t pretty, though.”

“It was implied.”

“Uh huh, suuuure,” Atsumu drawls with a smug grin. “So what did you see, then?”

Sakusa’s annoyed expression drops, eyes going distant. Something like pain flashes across his face. “I saw my best friend again.”

“Ushiwaka?” Atsumu pouts, clearly jealous.

“No.” Sakusa shakes his head. “My best friend from - From before camp. He was just a regular, mortal boy. My first friend. He used to come over to my house every day after school when we were kids. My mom was usually working, so it was just the two of us most of the time. One day, his dad came to pick him up, and I could tell that something was wrong. He was acting weird and he smelled like…” Sakusa trails off. “We were only nine. I was too young to realize he was drunk.”

Tsukishima’s throat closes up when he realizes where the story is heading. He feels Kuroo’s harsh exhale on the top of his head, and someone makes a small sound of distress in the back of their throats. On the ground between them, Atsumu slides his hand closer until his pinky is touching Sakusa’s.

Surprisingly, Sakusa doesn’t pull away. Instead, he just takes a deep breath before speaking again. “They never made it home. His dad flipped the car off a bridge on the highway. Neither of them survived.”

“Shit,” Atsumu curses under his breath. Tsukishima bites his tongue until he tastes blood and fights back hot tears prickling at the back of his eyes.

“I learned an important lesson that day,” Sakusa stares down at his lap somberly. “Having a God for a parent can suck sometimes, but there’s worse out there. There’s so much worse.”

Nobody has a response to that. It’s quiet except for the wind whistling for a few moments.

“I saw -” Goshiki blurts out suddenly, his ears turning red. “Texas,” he finishes lamely.

“Texas?” Atsumu repeats. “Your family from there or something?”

The rest of Goshiki’s face burns to match his ears. “Not exactly…” He squirms, clearly embarrassed.

“That’s where Ushijima and Tendou are,” Tsukishima realizes with sudden clarity.

It makes complete sense. Goshiki was always closer with Tendou than the rest of the Ares kids. Even though Daichi was technically their cabin leader, it was Tendou that Goshiki always followed around like a puppy and begged for extra training, and it was Tendou that ruffled Goshiki’s hair and practiced sparring with him until the patrolling Harpies forced them to call it a day.

Goshiki always looked up to Ushijima, too, even when he ended up being claimed as a child of Demeter. Something about the simplicity and dependability of his strength, or whatever. Tsukishima had heard him rambling on about it before.

If Sugawara and Akaashi had been the main people to raise Tsukishima, Tendou and Ushijima were the ones who raised Goshiki.

Now that Tsukishima thinks about it, Goshiki is the only crew member who agreed to come along without the comfort of anyone he was close to back at camp. Tsukishima had Kuroo and Yamaguchi, and they had him, and Lev and Atsumu were siblings. Even Sakusa found at least some sort of familiarity in having Atsumu around, constantly hitting on him.

Goshiki left everyone behind. His friends, his siblings, all his favorite people in the world, just to get the chance to finally prove himself to them all.

“Oh, right,” Kuroo says. “Didn’t they both move there at the end of the summer?”

Goshiki nods and ducks his head. “I saw them in their apartment in Dallas. They were sitting on the couch and Ushijima was reading the newspaper because he’s secretly an old man, and Tendou was playing video games and offering me the other controller and they…They wanted me to stay there. With them.”

He turns away from them, furiously scrubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. Tsukishima thinks of Sugawara and Akaashi waiting for him in New Rome and sympathizes more than he’d care to admit. It’s quiet for a few minutes, save for the sound of Goshiki’s sniffling, everyone averting their eyes awkwardly to give him some privacy.

Yamaguchi suddenly hums and taps Goshiki’s leg to get his attention. “I don’t think there’s enough room in their one-bedroom apartment for you, but you could always stay with me.”

Goshiki’s watery eyes fly open to meet Yamaguchi’s sweet smile.

“What?”

“I’m moving out there, too, at the end of this year to work at Ushijima’s flower shop with him,” Yamaguchi explains. “You should come with me! I bet Tendou could get you a job at the gym he’s working at, and the two of us could get an apartment together and be roommates! Wouldn’t that be fun?”

As he talks, Yamaguchi’s voice grows more and more excited, and Goshiki’s eyes grow wider and wider.

“Uh,” Goshiki looks slightly dazed. “I - Yeah, that - Are you sure?”

Yamaguchi laughs. “Duh. It would be way boring to live alone, anyways.”

Goshiki grins crookedly and pumps a fist in the air. “Well then, I promise not to bore you!”

“This is starting to give me a cavity,” Kuroo murmurs into Tsukishima’s ear. Tsukishima elbows him lightly and coughs to cover a laugh.

Before the two of them can start getting carried away with interior design plans, Tsukishima interrupts them by asking, “Lev, what about you? See anything useful?”

The son of Hermes looks startled at the sound of his name, and Tsukishima realizes he’s been uncharacteristically quiet for a while now, looking lost in his thoughts. He smiles apologetically.

“Sorry, no, nothing about the war. I just saw camp, and - And Yaku.”

Atsumu pretends to gag and Lev forces a laugh. “Not very exciting, I know. It was fall so there were a bunch of leaves on the ground, and Yaku always makes the biggest and best leaf piles for me to jump into. He was smiling and waving to me and -” Lev’s hand tightens around something. Tsukishima notices a small, wooden object clutched in his grasp.

“What is that?”

“Hm?” Lev follows Tsukishima’s gaze and his smile softens. He opens his hand and there’s a smooth little Russian doll sitting in the center of his palm. It looks painstakingly carved and painted in brights reds and yellows and blues. “Oh, this? Yaku made it for me before we left. I keep it with me for good luck.”

“Oh,” Tsukishima says simply while Yamaguchi squeals about how cute he finds the whole thing. Tsukishima wonders what sort of keepsake Kuroo would give to him for good luck. Maybe a human finger or something else gross and dead. Dating a son of Hades wasn’t all perks, after all.

“I’m think I’m just,” Lev stands suddenly, unfolding his long legs, eyebrows furrowed. “I’m going to Iris message him real quick.”

“Didn’t they just talk this morning?” Tsukishima grumbles once Lev is gone. “He’s going to use up all of our drachma at this rate.”

“Ah, cut him some slack,” Atsumu says, stretching out his legs to take up Lev’s now unoccupied space. “They’re having separation anxiety.”

“Separation anxiety?” Tsukishima scoffs. Kuroo pinches him lightly in reprimand.

“Can you blame him?” He asks. “This is probably really hard on them, after what happened last summer. Lev thought he lost Yaku completely.”

Shame burns beneath Tsukishima’s collar. How could he have forgotten about that? The haunted, soulless look in Lev’s eyes when Yaku didn’t return from his quest for almost the entire summer. Tsukishima remembers how sick and hopeless he felt when Kuroo came back from a quest only three days late once, he can’t even imagine what Lev must have gone through.

“Oh. Right,” he says quietly.

“I mean, think about it.” Kuroo squeezes him tightly. “If that had been you, there’s no way I would have let you out of my sight so soon. Especially for this long, on this dangerous of a quest.”

Atsumu snorts and Kuroo shoots him an annoyed look.

“Guess we don’t have to ask what you saw, huh, Loverboy?” Atsumu scoffs.

“I saw Tsukki, of course,” Kuroo answers so easily, it makes Tsukishima want to cry.

“You did?” Tsukishima croaks. Kuroo grins and kisses him on the forehead.

“Obviously.” His eyebrows scrunch together. “Why? What did you see?”

Tsukishima swallows past the bile rising in the back of his throat, the guilt burning every nerve ending of his body. The empty pit that’s opened up in the stomach when he remembers the ghostly voices, the shimmering mirages, the want that he’s kept buried so deeply for so long, he had actually convinced itself it wasn’t there.

“I saw you, too.”

Atsumu’s eyes snap over to Tsukishima, nose wrinkling in distaste like the lie is sitting as bitter on his tongue as it is Tsukishima’s.

Kuroo smiles at his answer, but his eyebrows stay drawn together. He reaches a hand to Tsukishima’s face and brushes a thumb across his cheek.

“Then why are you crying?”  
  
  


~*~

It’s night by the time they all decide to turn in for the night - no closer to finding a way to stop the way, but with fresh and spicy traumatic childhood memories to stew over.

They should be clear of the Bermuda Triangle area and any other threats for now, but Sakusa and Kuroo agreed to stay on deck and keep patrol for a little longer, just in case there are in lingering monsters around. Tsukishima tells Yamaguchi he’s too tired for dinner and that he’s just going to his cabin to sleep. Kuroo looks concerned, but doesn’t say anything. Just kisses his cheek and tells him to get some rest.

The guilt burns, oh does it burn.

On his way to his cabin, he hesitates in front of Lev’s door. It’s cracked slightly open, and Tsukishima considers going in to check up on the son of Hermes, remembering Atsumu and Kuroo’s comments. He peeks his head in the door and finds Lev sitting on the ground with the misty, sandy-haired image of Yaku in front of him. He’s sniffling quietly and the Russian doll is cradled close to his chest.

“I know,” Yaku is saying quietly. “I know it’s hard, but this was the right thing for you to do. We’ll see each other again soon, doll, I promise.”

Tsukishima backs away slowly, closing the door quietly behind him.

_Doll._ That’s why Yaku made Lev that toy. The Russian Doll is him.

Tsukishima speed walks down the hall to his own cabin, climbing into the middle of the bed and hugging his knees tightly to his chest. He takes a few deep breaths to keep himself from screaming or crying or throwing up.

It’s so unfair.

Tsukishima has everything he could ever want. He has Kuroo, who he loves more than anything in this world or any other world, and he has Yamaguchi, who keeps him centered and always knows what he needs. He had Sugawara and Akaashi waiting for him in New Rome, and he has a family back at camp, too.

It’s so unfair that he has everything while Lev and Goshiki and Sakusa truly have a reason to be wanting, and still - _Still_ the Sirens showed him… 

“Kei has a secret,” a sing-song voice suddenly interrupts Tsukishima’s self-loathing. He glares up at where Atsumu is leaning against his doorframe with a cheeky grin.

“Get out of my room before I put my secret foot up your secret ass.”

“Aw, why so defensive?” Unsurprisingly, Atsumu ignores his warning and walks into the room, closing the door behind him. He jumps onto the bed, rumpling the comforter and propping his head up on his hand, grinning at Tsukishima. “Did you see another man, you naughty boy? Is that why you wouldn’t tell Kuroo the truth?”

“Yeah, you got me,” Tsukishima says drily. “Surprise, you’re not the only one who saw your brother.”

Atsumu’s face scrunches up in horror before he realizes Tsukishima is lying.

“That’s just gross, Kei. Really gross. Also, I think Suna would fight you for him, and that would definitely cause some awkward tension in the Athena cabin.”

Tsukishima rolls his eyes. “If I didn’t want to tell Kuroo what I saw, what makes you think I want to tell you?”

“Precisely because I’m not Kuroo. You don’t give a damn what I think about you.”

“That’s…actually a good point.”

“Come on,” Atsumu needles. “Tell your big brother Tsumu what’s wrong.”

“You’re not my big brother,” Tsukishima responds reflexively. “You’re the bane of my existence.”

“Don’t you know? That’s exactly what big brothers are,” Atsumu says sagely. Tsukishima scoffs and hugs his knees tighter, resting his chin on top of them. “Hey,” Atsumu says, much gentler. “I mean it, you know. You can tell me and I won’t judge you or tell anyone else about it.”

Tsukishima bites his lip and glances at Atsumu out of the corner of his eye. For the first time, he finds no mischief in those rich brown eyes.

“You promise?” He whispers.

Atsumu draws an ‘x’ over his heart.

“I promise, Kei.” Then, more quietly. “What did you see?”

Tsukishima squeezes his eyes shut tightly, the way he’s been trying to avoid doing ever since the Siren’s spell was broken. Because in the vast darkness, the emptiness behind his own eyelids, he couldn’t stop seeing it.

Couldn’t stop seeing _them._

Tsukishima didn’t even know he remembered what his dad looked like. And Athena he only recognized by her voice, though for some reason he was sure that the dark-haired, grey-eyed woman was what she truly looked like. It was her voice that gave her away though. The same voice that came out of Apollo when he delivered her one and only message to him.

The same voice, he realized, that he heard in his owl dream.

When the Siren’s song reached his ears, Tsukishima saw only them.

They were in Paris, which Tsukishima had been to once before, when he was incredibly young. Again, something he didn’t even know he remembered, but it was like the Sirens reached into the deepest depths of his mind and dragged his most repressed memories to the forefront. His dad had taken him there on a trip once he was finished with a field job on the coast of France. He can’t have been more than five.

In his vision, they were sitting under the Eiffel Towel with a red checkered blanket beneath them. There was a picnic basket and a spread of cheeses and wines and baguettes, and the grass was brilliantly green and roses bloomed on the bushes as far as the eye could see. 

But mostly, there was them.

His dad appeared older than Tsukishima had ever seen him, but he supposed that’s what twelve years did to a middle-aged man. It must be what he really looks like now, if he looks like anything at all anymore. Maybe he’s dead. It’s not like anyone would bother to tell Tsukishima if he was. But still, there was something painful and achingly familiar about him. About the wire-framed glasses that sat crooked on his nose, his short, scraggly beard and worn brown sweater vest.

And Athena. She was beautiful. Not in the way that Tsukishima imagined a Goddess would be, though. Not like Thetis, where her beauty was terrifying and made her difficult to look at dead-on. Athena was beautiful like someone who didn’t care if she was beautiful. Beautiful in her straight nose and strong brows and bright smile. Beautiful in her dark hair pulled back from her face to show her sharp cheekbones, and the loving way she had her arms wrapped around his father’s bicep.

_“Kei,”_ his father said, and Tsukishima distantly remembers hearing the most wretched sound. He thinks he might have been the one to make it.

_“Dad.”_ It had been so, so long since Tsukishima had said that word.

_“Kei, dear, we’re so proud of you,”_ Athena said. It was all Tsukishima ever wanted to hear from her. From either of them. _“You’ve been fighting so hard for so long, but you can finally stop now. We’ll take care of you. We’ll take care of everything. You can let go now and come with us.”_

And Tsukishima was so tired. Having everyone at camp looking out for him and having his siblings to raise him was great and all, but they were all kids, just like him. He’s never been able to just relax and depend on a parent to take care of him. To promise him that everything was going to be okay.

_“Come on, son.”_ His dad beckoned him closer and Tsukishima can feel the rope burns now from how hard he had struggled to comply. _“Let’s go home.”_

It’s so unfair, because Tsukishima has everything he could ever want… And he didn’t know that he wanted this.

“I saw my parents.”

Atsumu whistles low and Tsukishima can’t force himself to open his eyes and see his expression right now. Sympathy, probably. Tsukishima might really throw up if he has to see Miya Atsumu looking at him like that. Atsumu wasn’t there when Tsukishima first arrived at camp, but everyone knows his story.

“Can I tell you what I saw?” Atsumu finally asks. Tsukishima opens his eyes and dares a look at Atsumu. He finds him with no discernible traces of pity on the other boy’s face.

“You already told us all what you saw?”

“I told you part of what I saw,” Atsumu says cryptically, clambering to sit up and face Tsukishima. “I did see Samu, but not the Samu that you guys know. I saw him from before we came to camp, back when we were eight.”

“Why? What happened when you were eight?” Tsukishima finds himself leaning forward curiously.

“I ran away.” Atsumu laughs self-depreciatively. “Well, I tried to run away. Can’t get very far when you’re only eight, though.”

“Why were you trying to run away? Did you and Osamu get in a fight or something?”

Atsumu shakes his head, a bitter twist to his lips. “Nah, it wasn’t him. It was our mom.”

Tsukishima presses his lips together, trying to spare Atsumu the same pity he spared him from. He’s heard stories about the Miya’s mom, just vaguely in passing. That she was crazy. Like, absolutely cracked, completely out of her mind. And not the fun kind, either.

“I don’t even remember what the bitch and I were fighting about,” Atsumu continues and the harsh word sounds jarring coming out of his mouth. “Probably something stupid, like me leaving my toy race cars on the floor in the living room again. She was raving like a lunatic, told me I wasn’t getting any dinner that night, so I told her I hated her and that I was running away forever. And do you know what she said?” Atsumu smiles flatly. “She said ‘good riddance’.”

Tsukishima can’t help but suck in a sharp breath through his teeth. Atsumu can be a jerk sometimes, but he doesn’t deserve that. Especially not when he was only eight years old.

“I’m sorry.” Tsukishima feels like he has to say it, even though he’s sure Atsumu doesn’t care to hear it. Predictably, Atsumu waves him off.

“It wasn’t like it was news to me or anything. My mom never wanted me and Samu in the first place, we always knew that. She only had us because she was so obsessively in love with Hermes, she thought that having us would make him stay with her. I mentioned that she was crazy, right? Obviously, she didn’t do her research on demigod kids. He didn’t come back, and she made sure we knew every day that we weren’t enough to make our father want to be a part of our family. That she blamed us for it.”

“I don’t blame you for wanting to run away.” Tsukishima says. Doesn’t know what else there is.

“Yeah, well, like I said, I didn’t exactly make it very far. I hid in some bushes all the way at the back of our yard for hours, until it started getting dark. My mom never came to find me,” he smiles, genuinely this time, “but Samu did. And he was always so scared of the dark, too, but he wandered around the yard calling my name, looking high and low for me for nearly an hour. And when he found me, shivering like a godsdamned wet dog, he wasn’t mad at me at all. For trying to leave him, or for making him look for me for so long. He just… He climbed in next to me and pulled a stale roll he stole from dinner for me out of his pocket. And when I was finished eating, he took my hand and walked me home. My mom never said a damn thing about it. Probably didn’t even notice that I left in the first place.”

“What a bitch,” Tsukishima says. Doesn’t know what else there is. Atsumu just laughs.

“She sure was. Got crazier and bitchier as the years went on, too. Started getting angry more often, throwing stuff and - and shoving us around. Joke’s on her, though, because eventually when things started getting real bad, Hermes _did_ come back for us. Not for her, though. Just showed up in our room one night, told me and Samu to pack all of our things, and took us to camp. We never saw our mom again.”

Atsumu exhales loudly and flops onto his back. “Gods, sorry, I didn’t mean to unload all that crap on you like that.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t really mind.” And oddly enough, Tsukishima finds that he didn’t.

Atsumu screws up his face in concentration and stares at the ceiling, piecing together his next words. “I guess all I’m trying to say is, as long as someone who matters wants you, what do all the rest matter? My mom may not have cared about me, but my brother always did. We had each other, and you have plenty of people who would literally walk through fire for you, Kei. Like, an embarrassing amount of people. And those are the only people who really matter.”

Tsukishima blinks at Atsumu in surprise. _As long as someone who matters wants you, what do all the rest matter?_

His dad may not have wanted him, and his mom might not, either. But Sugawara does. And so does Akaashi. Kuroo loves him, and Yamaguchi is the most loyal friend in the world. Oikawa and Tendou and Futakuchi have cared for him and taught him invaluable lessons, and this entire crew is risking their lives just to help him try and save the stupid world.

“Atsumu…” Tsukishima starts slowly. “That was actually very well-said.”

Atsumu grins. “I know, right?”

“You must really miss him. Your brother.”

“Don’t you dare tell him.”

“I think Lev’s already got that covered.”

“Bastard,” Atsumu curses, but he’s smiling.

“I - ah - um” _Thank you,_ Tsukishima can’t quite bring himself to say. Luckily, Atsumu seems to know anyways. He sits up and claps Tsukishima firmly on the shoulder.

“Any time, Kei,” he says, before standing. “I’ll get out of your hair now, princess. I know how much you value your beauty sleep.”

Tsukishima launches a pillow at his head, but Atsumu is already laughing and ducking out of the room. It hits the closed door instead and lands harmlessly on the ground. Tsukishima sighs and falls onto his back, a tiny grin playing at his lips.

Not thirty seconds later, the door is opening again.

“Forget something, Atsu - Oh. Hi.” Tsukishima pushes himself up onto his elbows.

“Hi,” Kuroo says. He picks up the pillow from the ground with a raised eyebrow.

“I was trying to hit Atsumu,” Tsukishima explains sheepishly. “He was just here.”

“I know.” Kuroo slowly closes the door behind him. “I passed by him in the hallway.”

“Ah. Right.”

“What was he doing here?”

_Just tell him,_ Tsukishima’s brain screams, but when he open his mouth, another bitter-tasting lie comes out.

“He was asking me if I want to train with him tomorrow.”

Kuroo hums and walks over to the bed, but pauses when he sees the messed up sheets on his side of the bed. His expression is unreadable, flickering from Tsukishima to the spot where Atsumu had jumped on. With stiff, almost mechanical movements, he places the pillow back onto the bed and smoothes out the sheets.

“How nice of him.” It doesn’t sound like he thinks it was very nice at all.

“I guess so,” Tsukishima says. He feels strangely unsure in this moment. He’s never been scared or nervous around Kuroo, even when they first met and he was nothing more to Tsukishima than a terrifyingly powerful stranger. But in this moment, for some reason, he feels like he’s walking on eggshells with him.

Kuroo slides under the sheets next to him and flicks off the lights without another word. He doesn’t move to get closer to Tsukishima, so cautiously he takes it upon himself to scoot closer and wrap his arms around Kuroo’s middle. His boyfriend’s body is stiff, but within seconds, he’s relaxing into the touch. Finally, his own arm comes around Tsukishima’s shoulders.

“Goodnight,” Tsukishima whispers. Kuroo sighs and kisses the top of his head.

“Night,” he murmurs back.

Tsukishima feels his lies sleeping in the bed between them that night, and only hopes Kuroo can’t feel them, too.  
  
  


~*~

Atsumu does end up training with him the next day. He was so shocked when Tsukishima actually went out of his way to ask _him_ of all people that he didn’t even make a single sarcastic remark about it, just agreed with a quick nod of his head and his eye practically popping out of his skull.

Kuroo was still asleep when Tsukishima woke up, which wasn’t their usual routine. Kuroo was normally up first, but Tsukishima hadn’t slept very well, and woke much earlier than usual. He was careful not to wake his boyfriend when he slid out of bed to wake Atsumu, and the two of them were up on the deck in full training gear before the sun had fully risen.

“You’re holding back,” Tsukishima accuses when he gets his third hit on Atsumu in as many minutes, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

“I’m pretty sure I’m still partially asleep,” Atsumu grumbles. Still, he adjusts his grip on the hilt of his sword, and this time when he rushes Tsukishima, he’s faster than before. Tsukishima raises his own sword just in time to defend himself and there’s a wicked glint in Atsumu’s eyes when he suddenly locks his blade with Tsukishima’s and twists hard, wrenching the hilt out of his hand. Before Tsukishima can even think about picking it back up, Atsumu’s foot hooks around one of his ankles and pulls him off his feet, one hand pushing between his shoulder blades in the same moment so that he ends up sprawled face-down on the deck.

“I hate you - Ow!” Tsukishima whines when Atsumu grabs the arm that he was surreptitiously trying to reach for his discarded sword with and pins it behind his back. And then, because he’s Atsumu and proving a point is never enough for him, he also plants his knee on Tsukishima’s back to finish pinning him down. Like Tsukishima was going anywhere anyways.

“Who’s holding back again?” Atsumu asks innocently.

“I think you ruptured my spleen, you ass.”

Atsumu laughs and lets up the pressure of his knee the slightest bit. Tsukishima sucks in a big breath and glares at Atsumu over his shoulder out of the corner of his eye. “You getting off any time soon?”

“I appreciate the offer, but as I already explained to your boyfriend, you’re not really my type.”

Tsukishima makes exaggerated retching sounds and feels the vibrations of Atsumu’s laughter against his back.

“You really know how to stroke a guy’s ego, Kei.” Atsumu cocks his head to the side to get a better look at Tsukishima’s face. “I take it the return of your usual unbearable snark means you’re feeling better today?”

Hidden beneath the surface layer of insult, Tsukishima can tell that Atsumu is actually genuinely asking because he’s concerned, which is far kinder than Atsumu has any right to be. Tsukishima is finding him increasingly tolerable these days. He also might just be spending too much time in the sun.

“I do,” he admits. “But I’m not thanking you again, so don’t even try it.”

“Technically, you never even thanked me the first time,” Atsumu points out.

“I stand by that decision.”

“Are you really in any position to be a brat to me?” Atsumu digs his knee a little harder into Tsukishima’s back and knocks the breath out of him.

“Fuck,” Tsukishima groans.

And of course, that’s the moment they hear someone clearing their throat.

Slowly, Tsukishima drags his gaze from the deck below him to the pair of shoes in front of him. A very familiar pair of worn, chunky black combat boots.

“Hi,” Tsukishima says weakly.

“Sorry to interrupt your…training,” Kuroo says, words flat, mouth set in a hard, tight line. “But it’s time for breakfast, Kei.”

“I’ll just starve then, I guess, don’t worry about me.” Atsumu grumbles under his breath. Kuroo ignores him. It was obviously purposeful, the way he only addressed Tsukishima.

Atsumu finally climbs off of Tsukishima’s back and holds out a hand to help pull him to his feet. Tsukishima graciously takes it, but the moment he’s upright and Atsumu lets go, Kuroo’s hand is immediately snatching it in his own and pulling him away.

It’s just the start to a very awkward morning.

Things between Kuroo and Atsumu seemed to have been simmering down lately, but they flare right back up again over breakfast, which Tsukishima thinks is kind of unfair because veggie omelets are his favorite and they are making it quite impossible for him to enjoy his. 

Kuroo keeps his arm around Tsukishima’s chair in a white-knuckled grip throughout the entire meal, while Atsumu aggressively shoves huge bites of food into his mouth and smiles sharply at Kuroo with his cheeks stuffed full, like some sort of weird display of manly eating prowess. 

Sakusa looks between the two of them before shaking his head and very wisely deciding he wants nothing to do with it. Yamaguchi, Goshiki, and Lev are all smart enough to sit at the other end of the table. Tsukishima tries to join them at one point, but Kuroo just pulls him back to his side again.

He’s starting to feel like a possessive dog’s favorite chew toy, and he can’t say he likes it very much.

Finally, when Atsumu’s grin reaches another level of infuriating and Kuroo’s grip on his knife gets dangerously tight, Tsukishima tries to dispel some of the tension.

“Lev,” he says suddenly. The son of Hermes’ head pops up. “It’s time.” Lev gives him a confused look and Tsukishima raises a pointed eyebrow. Lev’s mouth stretches into a wide smile around his bite of veggie omelet.

“Really?” He asks excitedly, swallowing quickly. “We can do it today?”

“Do what?” Yamaguchi asks curiously. Thankfully, everyone else seems to also be just curious enough that whatever else was happening is forgotten.

“Now that we’re finally clear of the Bermuda triangle and have a plan in place, we can head for Zephyros.”

“You know where he is?” Goshiki tilts his head to the side.

“He’s the God of the West Wind,” Tsukishima says slowly. “Isn’t it obvious?” He looks around the table, waiting for someone other than himself and Lev to put the pieces together. 

A little grin makes its way across Yamaguchi’s lips. “He’s in Chicago.”

Tsukishima nods in agreement. “He is. And obviously we can’t get there by water, so -”

“We’re gonna fly!” Lev interrupts him exuberantly.

Sakusa frowns, lower lip jutted out into what might almost be able to be called a pout. Atsumu pinches his cheek and coos until Sakusa grabs him by the back of the head and slams his face down into his omelet.

Kuroo snickers. “You always end up with egg on your face, don’t ya, Miya?” He taunts, and the double entendre makes Atsumu’s face burn red.

“You’re gonna - You’re the one who - You’re gonna have my _fist_ in your -” Atsumu sputters, but before he can finish, Sakusa sighs heavily and uses the water in his cup to douse Atsumu’s face and clean him off. With water dripping down his face, Atsumu sits back with his arms crossed, but no longer looking angry.

Atsumu sits back, water dripping down his face. He must have been shocked right out of his anger, because he only sounds resigned when he mutters a half-hearted, “Thanks.” Sakusa nods, and everyone carries on with their meals, chatting amongst themselves.

“You’re being a jerk,” Tsukishima grumbles under his breath, low enough that only Kuroo can hear him. Kuroo’s shifts his gaze to him sharply out of the corners of his eyes.

“Taking his side?” He scoffs. “Why am I not surprised?”

Tsukishima’s eyebrows draw together. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Can we do it right now?” Lev jumps out of his seat, hands planted on the table and leaning into Tsukishima’s space, effectively ending his and Kuroo’s conversation. He’s not sure he wanted to finish it anyways. Whatever is going on between Kuroo and Atsumu, he wants no part of it.

“Sure,” he says, finally pushing his chair away from the table, effectively dislodging Kuroo’s arm around him. “I’ll go with you.”

“Oh, that’s okay, you don’t have to -”

“Come on.” Tsukishima grabs Lev by the arm and pulls him away.

He’s not spending another moment in that kitchen. Too much testosterone in the air.  
  
  


~*~

The next week passes blessedly uneventful. Kuroo and Atsumu continue to avoid each other like the plague, but there are no more blow out arguments, so Tsukishima figures it’ll all blow over soon enough.

Once they talk to Zephyros and Atsumu sees that using Sakusa for their plan was the right thing to do, he’ll get over it.

Tsukishima doesn’t let himself consider any other outcomes. This is the right thing to do. It has to be.  
  
  


~*~

The Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower, is the tallest building in Chicago. Tsukishima made sure to look it up beforehand because if Zephyros is anywhere in this city, the top of the Willis Tower is their best bet.

Much like how Olympus is situated above the Empire State Building, there’s a good chance Zephyros’ domain is also located somewhere in the clouds high above the mortal world. The Willis Tower is the most prominent building in the Chicago skyline as the _Argo II_ approaches the city, standing taller and more regally than any other. Perfect for an egomaniac God to make his home for the next few centuries, until the center of human society inevitably shifted again.

The Windy City, however, lives up to its name.

The closer they get to the Willis Tower, the harder it becomes for Lev to keep control of the ship. Tsukishima doesn’t know if it’s just the Chicago weather or Zephyros himself trying to keep them away, but the _Argo II_ is being jerked around like a plane experiencing some major turbulence. To his credit, Lev holds them steady enough to keep them from falling out of the sky, and Tsukishima is again very grateful they decided to bring him along.

Every once in a while, however, the ship will drop a few feet quickly before righting itself again, and Tsukishima’s nails will dig into Kuroo’s forearm where he’s hanging on for dear life as his stomach jumps into his throat.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I miss the ocean,” Goshiki moans. Sakusa, looking greener than the rest of them, shoots the son of Ares a withering glare.

“Imagine how I feel,” he manages to grit out, before slapping his hands over his mouth to keep whatever is inside from coming out. Atsumu winces in sympathy and rubs his back in circles.

“Steady there, Fish Boy.”

“Call me that again and I’m aiming for you.”

“Sorry!” Lev calls down to them from the navigation deck. “We’re almost there!”

Kuroo gives him a thumbs up with the hand that isn’t wrapped around Tsukishima’s shoulders. “Gonna make it?” He asks, sounding half teasing and half genuine.

“Yeah.” Tsukishima swallows hard as the ship drops again. “Your shoes might not, though.”

Kuroo takes a large step back, still keeping an arm outstretched to lay a comforting hand on Tsukishima’s shoulder.

“Noted.”

The closer they get, the more apparent it becomes that Tsukishima’s hunch was correct. There, high above the Willis Tower, that would appear to mortals below as nothing more than a blanket of clouds, was an entire palace. Sitting atop the clouds, gleaming pristine and white with columns stretching into the atmosphere.

Lev must see it, too. Without needing to be instructed, he directs the _Argo_ towards the palace, probably intending to pull up alongside it.

That’s when something rams into them from the side.

Tsukishima screams, and his only saving grace is that the creaking sound the ship makes is loud enough to cover his high-pitched yelp. He’s thrown off his feet, but Kuroo manages to grab onto a support beam and hold them both up. The rest of them aren’t so lucky, as Yamaguchi ends up sprawled on top of Goshiki and Sakusa and Atsumu both land hard on their asses.

“What in Zeus’ name was that?” Tsukishima shouts to be heard over the howling of the wind.

Sakusa shakes his head and shrugs helplessly. “I didn’t see anything hit us!”

Another hit from below knocks Kuroo off his feet and Tsukishima falls with him, knees hitting the deck with a painful _thud._

“Lev!” Atsumu calls up to his brother. “Can you see what’s going on?”

Lev’s teeth are clenched tightly, hands flying furiously over the navigation panels and grabbing the wheel to steer.

“There’s nothing there!” He shouts back. It’s suspicious, Tsukishima thinks, that his story and Sakusa’s line up so perfectly. How could neither of them see an attack hitting them dead-on when they were looking right at it? He climbs to his knees, ignoring Kuroo’s questioning noises, and crawls his way to the side of the ship.

They’re hit three more times, in quick succession, from opposite sides. It sends them all flying in every direction, but Tsukishima grabs onto a nearby rope so tightly he feels his palms start to bleed and keeps hauling himself towards the edge.

He’s never had much of a relationship with Zeus, but he thinks his friendship with Bokuto might at least warrant him a little bit of good grace in the God’s eyes. He sends up a silent prayer that he doesn’t get chucked overboard as he peers over the railing.

Immediately, he feels his stomach drop. The ground is so, so far below them. Swallowing down his lunch, he grips the wood and looks around for the source of the attacks.

The ship goes careening to the left and Tsukishima gets tossed, though luckily away from the edge. It had been quick and barely there at all, but he had managed to see what hit them. The flash of white smoke that dove towards them before dissipating into the air.

“Wind spirits!” He informs the others, crawling his way back into the safe embrace of Kuroo’s arms. “Zephyros must have sent them to hold us back!”

“Spirits?” Goshiki repeats, a terrifying smile splitting his face as he pulls out a longsword. “Can spirits take a hit?”

Tsukishima shrugs and gestures for him to go ahead and find out. Goshiki leaps to his feet, crouched low to maintain his center of balance, and narrows his eyes in concentration. Tsukishima doesn’t know if bionic eyes are some sort of Ares kid trait, but the next thing he knows, Goshiki is slashing at thin air and crying out in victory.

“Did you guys see that? I got one!”

“Um, are you sure?” Yamaguchi asks hesitantly. Goshiki beams and nods, and this time he makes sure to swing in a graceful arc instead of a deadly stab, so that unlike the last time, the wind spirit visibly falls apart on Goshiki’s blade.

Atsumu whistles low. “Sharp shooting, there, kid.”

“Not a kid,” Goshiki informs him gleefully, dancing around the ship and taking out spirit after spirit. They’re still surrounded and taking the occasional hit, but the more Goshiki takes out, the easier it becomes for them all to stagger back to their feet.

Tsukishima takes inventory of them all - a little shaken, but nobody seems injured. Most importantly (not to sound shallow or anything), Sakusa’s face is still very nicely intact. The whole plan is kind of riding on that face, after all. They’re still not close enough to the clouds to make a jump for Zephyros’s palace, and even if Lev does manage to get them closer, there’s no guarantee that a wind spirit won’t knock them overboard the moment they try to step foot off the ship.

“We need something to tether ourselves to the palace,” he realizes. “If we can manage to get a rope tied to something on the other side, we can use it to keep the ship in place long enough for us to jump over.”

“You don’t need ropes!” Yamaguchi points across to the area in front of Zephyros’s palace. It’s a well-kept garden, green shrubbery and trees with golden apples hanging from their branches. Tsukishima doesn’t exactly understand the science behind growing plants thousands of feet in the air, but he’s not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. (Which Tsukishima finds to be an extremely foolish idiom, because if the Trojans had looked _their_ gift horse in the mouth, they wouldn’t have let the entire Greek army into their city.)

“Can you do it?” Tsukishima asks. Yamaguchi gives him an unimpressed look.

Face screwed up in concentration, he holds out both hands in front of him, feet planted firmly on the deck. His hands start glowing, not the same spring grass green it does when he used the vines from his strawberry plant, but something darker and earthier. Like a conductor orchestrating his symphony, Yamaguchi raises his hands, and the branches of the nearest tree rise with him. Then, he makes a grabbing and pulling motion, and the branches stretch and grow towards them with the speed of a striking viper.

Tsukishima shudders, memories of Medusa’s head of hissing snakes plaguing his mind. Bad analogy.

Within moments, Yamaguchi has the trees branches wrapped securely around the side of the ship, and even around a few support beams for extra security. He takes a pause then, breathing heavily and wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Okay?” Tsukishima tries not to insult his friend by looking too concerned.

“All good, just need a second to catch my breath.” Yamaguchi assures him with a bright thumbs up. He takes another deep breath, face settling into seriousness before he closes his fists tightly and makes a gesture like he’s pulling a rope in tug-of-war. (A game that the Demeter cabin has never once won, but Tsukishima is starting to think that’s only because they just weren’t playing with the right rope.)

The trees branches begin to retract themselves again, still hooked around the _Argo II_ and reel them in closer to Zephyros’s palace. Tsukishima grabs Sakusa’s hand, preparing to disembark as quickly as possible.

“Get ready to run and jump,” he warns the son of Poseidon. Sakusa looks slightly ill at the idea of his feet leaving the ground this high up in the air, but he nods and grips Tsukishima’s hand back twice as tight. It’s definitely going to bruise, but Tsukishima owes him at least this.

“Hold on.” Another hands wraps itself tightly around Tsukishima’s other one. Kuroo gives him a stern look. “You didn’t think you were going without me, did you?”

“Or me,” Atsumu adds, suddenly attaching himself to Sakusa’s other side. “Were you two really planning on facing Zephyros alone? With just Omi as the bait and _Kei_ as the muscle?”

Tsukishima elbows him sharply for the dig, and sighs. He and Sakusa share a look of shared suffering. Zephyros was already known for being volatile and petty enough as it was, the last thing they needed was for Atsumu and Kuroo to start arguing and stir up trouble. This plan was what started their whole tiff in the first place.

But… Tsukishima had promised. He had promised Kuroo they would stick together, and he hadn’t broken that promise yet.

“Fine,” he agrees reluctantly. “But! You two better be on your best behavior, understand me? We want to avoid a fight with him at all if possible. A single toe out of line and I’m throwing you both to the wind spirits myself.” Kuroo nods quickly and Atsumu visibly gulps. “Good.” The ship closes in on the bank of the clouds. Tsukishima times their approach just so, counting them down, aaand… “Go!”

All four of their feet hit the ground at the same time, not a single person letting go of the others’ hands, creating a human chain so that if any of them miss, the rest can pull them back up. Tsukishima purposely does not consider the fact that one of the pulling the rest down with them is also an option.

There’s still a good few feet of space between the _Argo_ and the cloud floor, and despite knowing what a bad idea it is, Tsukishima can’t help but look down as they leap through the sky. Nothing quite like the bout of vertigo that hits a person when they see their own two feet dangling thousands of feet above the ground, nothing below but the empty sky for miles and miles.

_“Holy shit!”_ He hears Atsumu shouting, sounding equal parts terrified and adrenaline-filled. Sakusa makes a vague sounds of terror, holding onto Tsukishima’s hand so tight his fingers start to go numb, and Kuroo whoops like he’s on the best part of a rollercoaster.

And then, their feet touch solid ground. Well, as solid as a ground made out of clouds can be. Their feet sink into it a few inches so it’s more like walking on marshmallows than anything else, but they aren’t free-falling through the air, so it’s definitely welcome.

“Alright?” Atsumu asks, patting Sakusa’s back.

“I think I just aged thirty years.”

“You look pretty damn good for fifty.” Atsumu winks and Sakusa fails to completely smother his grin. They’re still holding hands, Tsukishima notices, though he magnanimously doesn’t point it out. He doesn’t know which one of their benefit he does it for.

Sakusa’s, probably, since he would be mortified if anyone brought attention to him willingly engaging in physical touch with Miya Atsumu. Or maybe for Atsumu, who wouldn’t be embarrassed by having it pointed out, but would certainly be bereft when Sakusa inevitably pulled away from him. He’s going to have to let go before they face Zephyros, but Tsukishima has a feeling getting him to let go of Sakusa a moment before he had to would be a struggle.

Zephyros’s palace is glistening white, polished marble almost blinding with how brightly it reflects the sun’s rays. Stray wind spirits whip around them, messing up their hair and knocking Tsukishima’s glasses askew, but they don’t attack the way they had on the _Argo II._

Which can only mean that Zephyros is waiting for them.

After walking the long, column-lined halls, they come to a large set of pearly white double doors. Atsumu bits his lip hard enough to indent the skin, and finally releases Sakusa’s hand. Tsukishima does the same with Kuroo, stepping forward and gesturing Sakusa with him.

“The two of us will go first and do all the talking. You guys just hang back and support if things start looking bad. Understand?”

Both Kuroo and Atsumu frown and look like they want to argue, but they seem to remember Tsukishima’s threat at the same time. They nod together, and it’s the first time Tsukishima has seen them on the same wavelength in weeks. He hopes it lasts this time.

Tsukishima and Sakusa place their hands on one door each and push with all their strength. With a gust of wind, they part.

The room is vast, but barren on the inside. Nothing but white marble walls and columns lining the path to a white marble throne. On the throne, perched sideways with his legs thrown over the arm, is one of the strangest and most fascinating looking people Tsukishima’s has ever seen.

No, not a person at all. A God.

His outfit is all white, so that he practically blends in with the throne and the wall behind him. Tight, almost leathery looking white pants, and a white button down completely undone so that it exposes the pale lines of his chest, hanging languidly off his shoulders. His hair is almost similar to Kuroo’s in the way that it sticks up in every which direction, but it’s wispier and a blonde so pale, it’s almost as white as the clothes he wears.

And the strangest part is when they enter and he lowers his sunglasses to peer at them over the rims, his eyes are completely blue. Pale, milky blue with no pupil at all. The color of his eyes seem to swirl and ever-change, like clouds floating across the sky.

He’s almost the perfect antithesis to the first time Tsukishima met Thanatos, he realizes with a start. All bright white where Thanatos was dark and shadowy.

(And somehow, no less hot. Why did the people trying to end Tsukishima’s world all have to be so damn attractive?)

“Ah, I see I have guests!” With no rush at all, Zephyros spins himself in his throne to sit upright. “You must be those adorable little heroes I’ve been hearing so much about.” His grin splits his face and he gestures them closer. Tsukishima and Sakusa obey, while Kuroo and Atsumu linger further behind. “Now, now, that’s good. Let me get a good look at -”

Zephyros’s lazy gaze lands on Sakusa and all of the air drains from the room.

Eons of pain flash through his eerie pale blue eyes.

Tsukishima holds his breath, waiting for the God’s reaction. He isn’t anticipating rage, but there’s no predicting which way the winds will blow. To his credit, Sakusa doesn’t falter at all under Zephyros’s gaze. If anything, he stands a little taller. As if inviting Zephyros to look his fill.

“Your name,” Zephyros says quietly, eyes still trained on Sakusa. “What is it?”

“Sakusa. Sakusa Kiyoomi.”

Zephyros looks almost disappointed at the answer, like maybe he really was expecting Hyacinthus reincarnate, but he plasters another smug grin onto his face and switches his gaze to Tsukishima. “And you?”

“I’m Tsukishima Kei.”

Zephyros barks out a laugh, wild and harsh, and it rings out through the room, echoing off the walls. Kuroo is still a few feet behind him, but Tsukishima swears he can feel the moment he tenses.

“Oh, Gods,” Zephyros laughs, looking terribly pleased. “Of _course_ you are, I should have known from that pretty face! I’ve heard all sorts of stories about you, Tsukishima Kei.” He cups a hand around his mouth and leans in like he’s going to tell a secret. “You’re all Thanatos talks about, you know that? I’ve never seen him so excited to torture a soul for all of eternity before! You must have really pissed him off.”

Tsukishima clenches his fists until his nails bite into his palms. Now, he can hear Kuroo shifting restlessly, so he forces himself to stay calm. The entire room is like a fuse just waiting to be lit, and Tsukishima wants to avoid that possibility for as long as he can. “Yeah, well, he pissed me off first.”

Zephyros claps his hands delightedly. “Aren’t you a riot! I just adore demigods, you know. You’re all so cute and feisty, it’s truly inspiring.” He frowns and points towards the back of the room to Atsumu, who is scowling with barely repressed fury. “Except for that one. He seems quite intent on maiming me, don’t you think?”

It takes Tsukishima a moment to realize Zephyros is talking to him. “Oh, he won’t. I mean, none of us are interested in fighting you at all. We just want to talk and hopefully reach an agreement.” He elbows Sakusa subtly.

“Zephyros,” Sakusa says, and like before, the God goes still and silent. With a single word, Sakusa manages to capture his entire attention - just as intended. “There’s no reason this war has to happen. Whatever Thanatos promised you would be the outcome here simply isn’t true. Even if you defeat the Olympians, the entire world will be destroyed by your fighting. There won’t be a world left to rule over. There won’t even be people left to worship you.”

“You’re here to negotiate, of course.” Zephyros’s lips tilt into a smile, softer than it was before. Less biting at the edges. “I’m afraid there isn’t much better you can offer me to change my mind.”

“Offer?” Tsukishima frowns. “Wait, Thanatos is bribing you to fight for him?”

Zephyros shrugs, looking completely at peace with the whole thing. “Sure he is. I’m perfectly content with the way things are, and I have no interest in dirtying my hands with some silly war. But Thanatos offered my dad all of Zeus’s domain when he starts his new world order. He figures at least that much will be able to be salvaged in all the destruction, so my dad roped me and all my siblings into this mess.”

“None of you wants to fight?” Sakusa repeats, eyebrows furrowing. “Isn’t that all the more reason to at least hear us out?”

“Oh, I’ll hear you out.” Zephyros rests his chin in his hand and gives Sakusa another gentle grin. “I’ll sit here and listen to you talk all day, if that’ll make you happy.” Sakusa’s face flushes red and he clearly fights not to lower his gaze.

“But unless we can offer you something better than the skies, you won’t change your mind?” Tsukishima forces the God’s attention back to him.

Zephyros’s gaze snaps over to Tsukishima, clearly annoyed. “That’s the gist of it, sweetheart. I’m afraid you all wasted your time getting up here, though I can’t say I mind the company.” He winks at Sakusa.

Tsukishima frowns and mulls the new information over in his head. Boreas and his children have no real interest in the war between the Gods, which should technically make it easier to sway their alliance. But promises of new domains and power… They don’t have that.

“I have an idea!” Zephyros snaps his fingers, sitting up straight. “There is something you can offer me that I want more than the skies themselves. I’ll play you for it, and if I win, I get to keep it. But if I lose, I’ll convince my family not to fight for Thanatos. I’ll even give you the last correspondence I got from Thanatos to help you guys out. How does that sound?”

Too good to be true is how it sounds, which means that it probably is. They came here simply hoping that Zephyros wouldn’t fight, and maybe his siblings, too. But to offer them that, plus a hint on how to stop Thanatos?

Whatever Zephyros wants, he must want it _badly…_

Oh no.

Tsukishima bites his tongue until he bleeds to stop himself from screaming. _Oh, no no._ This is all his fault, he never should have agreed to this. He never should have brought Sakusa along. He never should have -

“What do you want from us?” Atsumu asks suspiciously, crossing his arms over his chest and narrowing his eyes at the God. Zephyros grins sharply, gaze locking on Atsumu like a predator stalking its prey. He rises from his throne on long, lean legs and makes his way down, across the floor, heading straight for…

Zephyros raises a hand and gently caresses Sakusa’s cheek. Atsumu lets out a howl of rage and only Kuroo’s arms locking around his chest stop him from rushing the God.

“I propose we play a little game of discus,” Zephyros says casually, unaffected by Atsumu’s reaction with a maniacal twinkle in his eye. “You win, my family stays out of the war and you get my message from Thanatos. I win, I get him.” He looks over Sakusa’s shoulder at Atsumu, grin spreading wider. “And you’re going to be my challenger.”

Atsumu goes pale and stops struggling in Kuroo’s arms. “No. No way, not a chance in Hades!”

Zephyros shrugs. “Pity. I was going to go easy on you and everything. Too bad you’ll only have yourself to blame when the entire world crumbles to dust.” He laughs cruelly. Atsumu is vibrating with rage again, but he makes no move to fight.

Tsukishima is torn, though he knows he shouldn’t be. Atsumu is obviously right. They can’t risk losing Sakusa, and they _definitely_ can’t play a game of discus with the guy famous for his discus-murder. But still… It feels like such a wasted opportunity.

No. No, they aren’t going to gamble Sakusa’s life. It’s too risky, they’ll just have to find another way to -

“Do it.” A calm voice cuts through Tsukishima’s frantic thoughts. Atsumu’s jaw drops, and Tsukishima thinks his does the same, but Sakusa’s expression remains cool and defiant.

“But - But Omi -” Atsumu stammers.

“It’s okay.” Sakusa’s lips quirk into a half-smile and the sun rises in the sky to bask the room in a brilliant glow. “I trust you.”

If Atsumu looked stunned before, he looks absolutely gobsmacked now. The terms of the game apparently accepted, Zephyros claps his hands and instantly, there’s a group of wind spirits carrying a slat cement slab floating through the air towards him. He takes it in his hands with a nostalgic, reverent sort of smile. Tsukishima feels sick to his stomach when he notices the dark stain on it.

Red like blood.

The wind spirits usher Tsukishima, Kuroo, and Sakusa off to the sides, so that only Zephyros and Atsumu are left facing each other from opposite ends of the massive room. “A fair game, right?” Atsumu asks.

“Of course,” Zephyros smiles reassuringly at him. 

Atsumu’s nose wrinkles in distaste. Like he was tasting something bitter.

The game begins.

From his position on the other side of the makeshift field from Sakusa, he can see the way the other boy flinches every time the discus goes smacking into Atsumu’s hands. It must hurt, Tsukishima thinks, especially with the way Zephyros sends it flying with his Godly strength. But Atsumu doesn’t show it on his face if he’s in pain. Probably for Sakusa’s benefit. Maybe to make Zephyros nervous. Either way, he’s picking up the game quickly and not missing a single toss.

The muscles in his arms and shoulder and back strain beneath his shirt when he twists his body nearly in half to send the discus flying back with as much power as possible. It’s hypnotizing to watch, and Tsukishima kind of gets why all those buff, half-naked Greek guys used to play this for fun.

“Getting tired?” Zephyros taunts. “Your throws are getting weaker, not that they were ever very strong to begin with. Nobody would blame you if you threw in the towel now. You did do your best, after all. What more can humanity ask of you?”

Atsumu catches Zephyros’s next through with an audible grunt. “Don’t care about humanity,” he huffs. “But you’re not getting your slimy hands on Omi as long as I’m still breathing.”

Zephyros laughs and easily catches Atsumu’s return throw with one hand. His eyes gleam and everything in Tsukishima is screaming _no, no, wrong,_ but he isn’t fast enough to realize why. The discus goes sailing into Atsumu’s hand again, and almost as if he’s trying to prove a point, Atsumu puts all of his strength behind his next throw.

“Oh, that’s a nice one,” Zephyros praises with a wicked smile. And with a simple flick of his wrist, a strong gust of wind sends the discus careening off its course. 

Straight towards Sakusa.

“No!” A horrible scream rips its way out of Tsukishima’s throat and he’s rushing towards Sakusa. He knows it’s impossible for him to get all the way over there in time to save him, but he can’t just stand there and do nothing. His battle instincts won’t let him.

Sakusa’s eyes are wide, arms coming up to try and protect himself, but he must know, too. That there isn’t enough time.

And then, Atsumu leaps out in front of him just as the discus is about to collide with his head.

Oh, Gods. Now _Atsumu_ is going to die, too. He has his sword raised defensively out in front of him, but there’s no way it’ll be strong enough to stop the discus with the speed and strength that it’s heading towards them. If anything, he’ll only end up using his own weapon against himself. If the discus hits his sword, it’ll just be knocked back into his own chest.

_Stupid,_ Atsumu is so stupid. Tsukishima is so stupid to let this happen. He wants to close his eyes, but like a bad car crash, he can’t look away as - as - 

As Atsumu’s blade cuts through the concrete like it’s made of butter.

Tsukishima falters, stopping dead in his tracks in the center of the room. Atsumu’s usual celestial bronze sword shouldn’t be strong enough to cut through stone like that. Not like that.

His heart drops to the floor, head light and dizzy with rage and betrayal when he realizes in a split second what happened.

That’s not Atsumu’s sword.

It’s _his._

The sword that Ares gave to _him_ to use on Thanatos. The very same sword that Atsumu himself had been helping Tsukishima train with. The sword that Tsukishima was meant to save the world with. The sword with only _one use._

And that was it.

He’s so blinded by fury, red creeping in around the edges of his vision, he hears it like he’s got cotton stuffed in his ears. Someone shouting his name.

His eyes, which had been previously trained on the sword, clutched in Atsumu’s dirty, thieving hands, follow the sound. Sakusa’s eyes are still wide and afraid, even though Atsumu had stopped the discus.

And why was he screaming Tsukishima’s name?

Ah. Tsukishima eyes focus in on the remainders of the discus, which had been cut clean in half, now flying through the air towards _him._ Zephyros wasn’t easily deterred, Tsukishima had to give him that. He fumbles for his spear though he already knows he won’t be able to pull it out fast enough, and even so it wouldn’t be able to save him. But again, his body just can’t stand still.

This time, he does close his eyes. He hopes Kuroo isn’t looking either. He would so hate for his boyfriend’s last image of him to be his brains splattered across the shiny white floor.

A few more heartbeats pass and Tsukishima counts each one. Waiting. And then, a pained sounding howl fills the air, along with the sound of two very heavy objects hitting the floor. Cautiously, Tsukishima peeks one eye open.

The first thing he sees in front of him is Sakusa’s face, flooded with relief. Then, Atsumu’s. Guilt-stricken. Good.

Finally, he turns towards the throne and what he finds makes his insides twist. Kuroo’s anger is a heavy, palpable thing, even from across the room. All of the light seems to be sucked out of the sky, and all that’s left is the darkness flowing through Kuroo’s veins, the shadows tracing up the contours of his body, the nightmare tresses of his hair. He’s growling lowly, teeth bared, and Tsukishima can’t remember the last time he saw his boyfriend like this.

Oh, yes he can. It was last summer, when Thanatos nearly killed him.

The most shocking thing, however, is what Kuroo is _doing._ He’s got one of Zephyros’s wrists locked in a vice-like grip, and beneath his touch, Zephyros is…disintegrating. Rapidly aging so quickly, that by the time he manages to yank his arm free, he’s nothing but bone and papery skin already beginning to crumble to dust from the elbow down.

Kuroo snarls and lunges for his throat this time, but the Wind Gods are quick - quicker than even your average God - and he’s across the room and a safe distance from Kuroo’s killer hands in the blink of an eye. He cradles his boney arm to his chest and raises the other in surrender.

“Okay! Okay, enough!” He yelps, when both Kuroo and Atsumu start for him again. “I’m sorry, that was a nasty trick, let’s all just calm down!”

“Calm down?” Kuroo seethes, stalking across the room. “Oh, buddy, you chose the wrong guy to mess with if you wanted to keep _me_ calm.”

Zephyros’s gaze flits back over to Tsukishima and he lets out a weak laugh. “I never asked you to introduce yourself, did I? You must be Kuroo Tetsurou. The son of Hades.” He sighs loftily. “Well, honestly, if I knew _you_ were going to be here, I might not have even bothered with the whole thing. Thanatos warned us all about you, as well. That you would go to impossible lengths to protect Tsukishima. I daresay he might even be afraid of you.”

“He should be,” Kuroo hisses. Zephyros pales.

“Right, okay, I can see there’s something very personal going on between you two and Thanatos that I would simply _hate_ to get in the middle of. So why don’t I, ah, take the loss here, hold up my end of the deal, and we can all call it a day? Sound good to everyone?”

“I would rather kill you,” Atsumu says simply.

“Finally, something we can agree on.” Kuroo grins dangerously.

Zephyros sighs, like this is all nothing more than a minor inconvenience to him. “I thought you might say that. Unfortunately, that wasn’t part of the bargain.” He flashes Sakusa one last sad, longing grin. “Maybe in the next life, hm?”

Sakusa scoffs and crosses his arms, shifting almost imperceptibly closer to Atsumu. “I wouldn’t hold your breath.”

Surprisingly, Zephyros just laughs. “This was fun, demigods. I’m sure our paths will cross again, but I can assure you that for the time being, it won’t be as enemies.” He cocks his head to the side and gives Tsukishima an enigmatic smile. “I think I might actually be rooting for you, pretty boy.” He gives them a final wiggle of his fingers in farewell before vanishing into thin air.

What remains is the heaviest silence Tsukishima has ever felt in his life.

He looks up and Atsumu is already looking back at him. The sword hangs limply from his grasp, so unassuming and yet so damning.

Tsukishima is across the room in a flash.

“I _trusted_ you,” he seethes, jabbing a finger directly into Atsumu’s sternum. “I trusted you, you asshole, and you - you _betrayed_ me!” His voice cracks on the word and pain flashes across Atsumu’s features. “Why? Why - How? How could you do this to me? To all of us? That was our one shot at defeating Thanatos! How could you be so _selfish?”_

Tsukishima’s breathing comes in harsh pants, pushing further and further into Atsumu’s space, spitting angrily right in his face. Atsumu’s eyes go hard, and while he had been previously letting Tsukishima push him around, he suddenly steels himself and glares right back.

“Selfish? You wanna talk about selfish?” He gestures broadly at both Tsukishima and Kuroo, who had appeared at his side. “You two are the most selfish people on this whole quest!”

“Us?” Kuroo repeats.

“Me?” Tsukishima shrieks.

“Yes!” Atsumu shouts back. “I asked you - No, I _begged_ you not to go through with this plan and you wouldn’t listen to me! But I guess as long as the two of you get to keep the ones you love safe, then everyone else is just a pawn on your chessboard, right?”

The words hit Tsukishima where it hurts. He fights back hot, angry tears, and gets right in Atsumu’s face.

“You think I like this, huh? You think I wanted to put Sakusa in danger? To put any of you in danger? Of course not! But you’re all adults and you can make your own decisions, and _you all_ decided to come on this quest knowing it was going to be dangerous. You can’t blame me for that!”

Atsumu scoffs an ugly laugh. “Yeah, well then you can’t blame me for doing what I did to protect Omi. It’s not like the two of you wouldn’t have done the same exact thing if it was one of you in this position.”

“That’s not the point!” Tsukishima shoves at Atsumu’s shoulder, satisfaction curling hot and ugly up the back of his neck when the son of Hermes stumbles back. He wants to _hurt_ Atsumu. He wants to hurt Atsumu the way Atsumu hurt him. Deep. “You lied to me! You went behind all of our backs and made this decision all on your own. A decision that could very well have just decided the fate of the world! And you - you - you _lied_ to me.” Tsukishima repeats, because for some reason, that’s what hurts him the most.

Atsumu’s face twists up guiltily and Tsukishima wonders if it’s fake. Wonders if all the time he’s spent recently with Atsumu was fake. If all the heart-to-hearts and the extra training and the stupid jokes were all just to get closer to Tsukishima. To get him to trust Atsumu, so that he wouldn’t suspect a thing when Atsumu went right under his nose and burned that trust to ashes and dust.

“And you don’t even care,” he whispers hoarsely, throat aching from all of the shouting. Now, Atsumu really looks angry.

“Is that what you think of me? You really think so low of me that you don’t believe this hurt me at all?”

“Fuck you.”

“No, fuck _you!”_ Atsumu pushes back at Tsukishima’s shoulders, the way he had done to him. Tsukishima staggers, almost losing his footing. Atsumu is much stronger than he is. “I didn’t wanna do this either, but you _made_ me! And you know what, I like you and all, Kei, but I saved Omi’s life! I did what no one else would and if that makes me the bad guy in your eyes, then _fine!”_

Atsumu gives Tsukishima one final push. Hard.

Tsukishima collides with something solid behind him, the only thing that keeps him from falling. He feels the familiar harsh rise and fall of Kuroo’s chest, and the next thing he knows, he’s being pushed behind his boyfriend’s back. Kuroo places himself between Tsukishima and Atsumu, fists a hand in the son of Hermes’ shirt and yanks him in so that they’re nose to nose.

“If you _ever_ lay a hand on him again -”

“You’ll what?” Atsumu snaps. “Go ahead, tough guy, show me! We’re all well aware that as long as it’s not Kei’s life in danger, you couldn’t give less of a damn!”

“You pompous little -”

“Enough!” Sakusa’s voice is thundering. He steps forward and puts an arm across Atsumu’s chest, nudging him back a step so that he’s the one facing Kuroo now. Kuroo glares a little longer, and Sakusa meets him with an even stare. The air between the children of the Big Three crackles with power for a brief moment and Tsukishima wonders if they might bring down this entire structure with them if it comes to blows.

Thankfully, before he can find out, Kuroo deflates and takes a step back, apparently deciding this isn’t the fight he wants.

“I didn’t do any of this to hurt you,” Atsumu says quietly. “I wouldn’t do that to you, Kei.”

Tsukishima lifts his chin and meets his eyes over Sakusa’s shoulder. “You just did.”

Kuroo wraps a protective arm around his waist. Again, Atsumu looks like Tsukishima just punched him square in the face. It doesn’t feel as good this time.

“The note.” Sakusa makes sure to keep himself between Kuroo and Atsumu, jerking his chin towards Zephyros’s throne. “Grab it, Tsukishima.” Tsukishima nods quickly and scrambles to comply, grabbing the folded up piece of parchment left behind and shoving it into his pocket.

“Let’s continue this conversation back on the ship. Perhaps after we've all had a chance to cool off?” Sakusa suggests, but it’s really more of an order. Kuroo huffs, clearly displeased, and takes Tsukishima by the hand, storming out ahead of the other two.  
  
  


~*~

They don’t continue the conversation back on the ship.

In fact, Tsukishima doesn’t trust himself to talk to anyone without shattering completely, even blowing past Yamaguchi without answering any of his questions. He’ll feel bad about it later, but for right now he just wants to lock himself in his cabin and scream into his pillow for a few hours.

He feels like a fool.

The worst part is that he doesn’t even know who he’s more angry at: himself or Atsumu.

There’s no denying that some of what Atsumu said was true, though it certainly doesn’t make what he did right. If their positions were switched, what would Tsukishima have been willing to do to make sure he could protect Kuroo? Who would he be willing to betray?

Probably Atsumu. 

Okay, definitely Atsumu.

He knew Atsumu wasn’t happy with their plan. He knew it all along. Maybe all of this could have been avoided if he had gone out of his way to work with Atsumu on a solution. Maybe if he were a better leader…

Tsukishima flops face-first onto the center of the bed and hears the cabin door shut quietly, knowing that Kuroo wasn’t far behind him. Neither of them speaks for a while, and finally Tsukishima rolls onto his back and pushes up on his elbow. His mouth pulls into a frown when he sees the look on Kuroo’s face. Conflicted and lost and a bit - sad?

“What is it?” Tsukishima sits up. Kuroo’s mouth screws up, eyebrows drawing together. Tsukishima’s heart pounds in anticipation.

“Kei, what’s going on?” He sounds tired.

“Um, we’re screwed, that’s what’s going on.”

“No, I mean… What’s going on with you and Atsumu?”

Tsukishima sits up straighter, head tilted to the side in confusion. “You just saw what’s going on with me and Atsumu?”

“No!” The word comes out harsh and loud. Kuroo drags a frustrated hand through his hair. “No, I mean - There’s more than just that, isn’t there? There’s been something going on between the two of you for a while now. If this had all happened a few weeks ago, you wouldn’t have even been surprised that Atsumu went behind your back and stole from you, but today you acted like - like he had broken your heart or something.”

Tsukishima wants to argue, but he knows what Kuroo said is true. He’s only hurting so badly now because he let himself open up to Atsumu, and he got burned.

“Nothing’s going on with us,” he lies through his teeth. Not anymore, there isn’t.

“Don’t bullshit me, Kei!” Kuroo slams a fist on the door, shaking the wood in its frame. Tsukishima jumps as the sound. “Not me. You can’t, I know you too well. This is exactly the sort of cagey way you acted when you were dating Futakuchi for months and hiding it from me.”

“Really?” A laugh claws its way out of Tsukishima’s throat and it doesn’t sound kind. “You’re still hung up on _that?”_

“I’m not hung up, I’m just - I know you’re lying to me.” Kuroo’s handsome features twist in a scowl. “And you’ve been lying to me and I’m sick of it.”

Tsukishima swallows hard, the guilt going down like jagged glass.

“I don’t know what you want me to say right now,” he says quietly. Another lie. All Kuroo wants from him is an explanation - the truth. Kuroo eyes him carefully, finally taking a step closer to start closing the distance between them. Tsukishima’s heart swoops with relief, that maybe Kuroo will let this whole thing go and things can go back to the way they were.

His relief stops dead in its tracks with Kuroo’s one simple question:

“Are you in love with him?”

“Am I in love with -” Tsukishima blinks, mind reeling to catch up with the question. “Unless the ‘him’ in question is you, the answer is obviously no!”

“Atsumu!” Kuroo explodes, suddenly grabbing him by the shoulders. Tsukishima is frightened, but not by Kuroo’s hands on him. By the wild, impossibly pained look in his eyes. “Are you in love with Atsumu!”

“I can’t believe you just asked me that,” Tsukishima says slowly. As the meaning of the conversation and all of Kuroo’s previous questions becomes clear to him, a hot dagger of anger pricks at his spine. “I can’t _believe_ we are even having this conversation right now!”

“We wouldn’t be having this conversation at all if you weren’t keeping things from me in the first place!” Kuroo releases Tsukishima’s shoulders and takes a step back, like he can’t even bear to be so close to him in this moment. It stings like rejection. “I’m not stupid, Kei, I can see what’s going on here. The two of you have been getting closer. Ever since that day after the Sirens when I came back to find _Miya Atsumu_ sneaking out of my boyfriend’s room -”

“Oh, gods, please don’t -” The implication is clear and Tsukishima feels like he’s going to be sick.

“The bed was a mess and you were laying there looking awfully satisfied -”

“Tetsurou, stop, ugh, no more!” Tsukishima closes the gap between them again to forcefully muffle the end of Kuroo’s sentence with his hands over his mouth. He does not need those particular mental images plaguing his mind. “I was _not_ hooking up with Atsumu, how could you even think that?”

Kuroo turns his head and rips himself free of Tsukishima’s hands. “I don’t _know,_ Kei, I don’t know anything because you aren’t _telling me_ anything!”

“And you think this is the way to get me to tell you? By accusing me of cheating on you? Of being in love with someone else? As if - As if I could _ever -”_ Tsukishima’s hands tremble in weak fists at his sides. Just the thought of loving anyone but Kuroo for the rest of his life - It’s enough to make him want to sink to the ground and sob uncontrollably. What kind of life would that be?

As if he can read Tsukishima’s mind, Kuroo’s anger softens just the slightest bit around the edges. “What am I supposed to think?”

“You’re supposed to _trust_ me!” Tsukishima shouts. “You’re supposed to trust that I love you above anything else in the entire world! Have I - Have I not proven that to you? I have been in love with you since I was thirteen years old, and you think that just like that I would go and - and - Miya Atsumu! Seriously? He’s like -” He groans, the inevitable truth finally cementing itself in his mind. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. He’s like a _brother_ to me.”

For all of his shortcomings and the way he drives Tsukishima entirely up the wall, it’s impossible to deny at this point. Miya Atsumu is family now. Miya Atsumu is _his_ family now.

That’s why his betrayal today had hurt so badly. In a way, he really did break Tsukishima’s heart.

“Well then what is it? What’s the big secret? What could you possibly be able to talk to Atsumu about and not me? Please, Kei… Just tell me. I’ve been driving myself insane over this, clearly. I just want to know.” Kuroo is practically begging now, and it’s almost worse than his rage. Seeing his proud, strong, Hades-raising boyfriend so broken and confused… And it was his fault. Tsukishima had done this to him.

His chest is too tight, his head too light and dizzy. It’s too much for him to take at once. The knowledge that he could cause someone he loves so much this kind of pain.

“I - It’s not you - I just -”

“You just said that I’m supposed to trust you, right?” Kuroo steps closer, reaches for him. “So why don’t you trust me?”

A sob tries to tear itself out of Tsukishima’s chest and he ducks away from Kuroo’s arms, breathing irregular as he backs towards the door.

“I - I need some air. I can’t - I need to go.”

Tsukishima leaves, and Kuroo doesn’t follow him.  
  
  


~*~

Tsukishima grips the edges of the ship and heaves in a few deep breaths, trying to calm his erratic heart and stop the full-blown panic attack threatening to overtake him. The air is fresh this high up in the air, away from all the pollution of human existence. Tsukishima hangs his head and looks down at all the twinkling lights below, signs of a million different lives going on at the same time as his, but blissfully unaware that their very existences are hanging in the balance.

He wonders what they would all think if they knew their fates rested in his hands. That this panicky, screw-up of a teenager who couldn’t even face his own boyfriend was responsible for saving their entire world.

They’d probably laugh. He knows he would.

“Are you okay?”

Tsukishima jumps three feet in the air, heartbeat that he worked so hard to calm suddenly racing again. He clutches his chest and thanks Zeus he didn’t end up jumping right over the edge of the ship into the lights below.

“Gods, Yamaguchi!” He gasps. His friend hovers just behind him, grimacing apologetically.

“Sorry!” He grabs Tsukishima and tugs him a step further from the edge. “Sorry, Tsukki,” he repeats sheepishly, smoothing his hands over Tsukishima’s shoulders before letting them fall to his sides.

“No, no it’s okay. I didn’t realize anyone else was up here.” Tsukishima tries to discretely wipe any rogue tears from the corners of his eyes. He stubbornly refused let any fall, but he could feel them desperately clinging to his lash-line.

“I’ve been working on learning all the constellations,” Yamaguchi explains, tilting his head back towards the night sky with a peaceful smile. “The view from this high up up is amazing! I’m pretty sure thats Mars over there, but it also could be a - Yeah, never mind, it just moved, it’s a plane.”

Tsukishima snorts a laugh, and it’s the first time he’s had a reason to smile all day. Yamaguchi hums, pleased, like he knows it, too. Even though Tsukishima memorized all of the constellations in an almanac about astrology when he was nine, he doesn’t point out a single one as he tips his head back and looks at the stars with Yamaguchi. They’re quiet for a few moments, just looking.

“You never answered my question,” Yamaguchi interrupts the silence gently.

“Hm?” Tsukishima looks down and finds Yamaguchi already looking back at him. He averts his gaze, not ready to expose himself to his friend’s wide, searching eyes that always seem to be able to read Tsukishima like he’s a wide open book. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Kuroo and I were just… We needed to take a break.”

“From fighting?”

Tsukishima winces. “Has it been that obvious?”

“Oh, no. I just heard you guys when I was on my way up here. Thought it was better not to interrupt.”

“We must have sounded pretty stupid, huh?” Tsukishima laughs self-depreciatively. Yamaguchi gives a noncommittal hum.

“He was right, though, wasn’t he? There is something you’re keeping from him.”

Tsukishima’s gaze snaps back to his friend. “You know?”

“Sorry! I wasn’t - I mean, I wasn’t trying to, but when we sailed past the island of Sirens, I could sort of read your lips. It was pretty easy, you just kept saying the same things over and over again.” Yamaguchi’s eyes fill with a sadness that makes Tsukishima sick. “Mom and Dad.”

Tsukishima huffs a humorless laugh. “So you knew the moment I lied to him, huh? I can’t seem to keep anything from anyone on this ship. Yeah, well, Atsumu obviously knew that I was lying, too. He followed me after to try and get me to talk to him about what I saw.”

“And you told him?” Yamaguchi sounds rightfully surprised.

“He’s…shockingly easy to talk to. You know, when he’s not being a the world’s biggest jerk. I told him what I saw, but we didn’t, like, discuss it in depth or anything. It just felt good to get it off my chest.”

“And you couldn’t tell Kuroo because…”

Ah, there it is again. The guilty taste of bile and lies in the back of Tsukishima’s throat.

“I didn’t want to worry him. It’s not like it’s a big deal or anything, and he would have gotten all concerned over nothing.”

Yamaguchi sighs. Heavy, like there’s something that weighs on a ton on his chest. And then, he lets it go.

“You know, when we first became friends, Suga told me stories about when you first got to camp.” Tsukishima’s chest seizes up. “About how you hated it there and wouldn’t participate in any of the activities or let anyone get too close to you. All you would talk about was how your dad was going to come back for you any day now, and all the amazing adventures you were going to go on. You were a total brat, always bitching out all the older campers whenever they tried to help you, or talk to you. To explain to you that your dad… That he wasn’t coming back.”

Just like that, the floodgates open and dark, repressed memories that Tsukishima has managed to keep locked away for years suddenly rise back to the surface. It feels like being set free and suffocated all at once.

He remembers those days. He remembers hiding under the covers in his bunk in the Hermes cabin every night, waiting until everyone else was asleep to hide his crying every day that passed and his dad didn’t come back for him. Lashing out at all the older kids - Suga, Akaashi, Oikawa, Tendou - who made any effort to get close to him. Waking up every day and wishing that all of camp had just been some terrible nightmare, that his dad would be in the bed right next to them and they would jet off to a new place and dig up pieces of history together, the way they always did.

Of course, his dad never did come back for him.

“Suga said it took months for you to open up to him and Akaashi,” Yamaguchi continues carefully. “But then one day… Athena claimed you, and like a switch had been flipped, all of a sudden you started treating Camp Half Blood like your home. Treating your siblings like your family, and actually kind of making friends. Though I was still your first real one. You never talked about your dad again, and they were all just so relieved to finally see you happy and fitting in, that they never brought him up… And I guess I didn’t want to make you sad either, so after Suga talked to me, I never brought him up either, but…” His face falls, looking at Tsukishima guiltily. “But I don’t know if that was the right thing for me to do.”

Tsukishima wants to respond, but he’s having enough trouble just trying to breathe right now. He doesn’t think speaking is on the table quite yet.

Almost as clearly as the pain and the longing, Tsukishima remembers the feeling of belonging. Of being wanted, when Athena first claimed him as her son. He had never met her, didn’t hear from her and knew nothing about her, but he didn’t care. She claimed him, and that was enough.

At least, for a time it was.

“Tsukki…” Yamaguchi takes both of his hands and forces him to look right into the shorter boy’s eyes. “I think in order to be really happy and move past this, you need to let yourself be sad about it. And I think Kuroo is the only person who could bring you back from it.”

_Kuroo._ Tsukishima suddenly aches for him. He’ll apologize, he’ll take all the blame, he’ll do whatever it takes in this moment to get Kuroo’s arms around him again.

Tsukishima grips Yamaguchi’s hands tightly and can’t help his strangled laugh, battling a fresh wave of tears. “Why do I feel like you’re always putting my life back together right when I think it’s all going to fall apart?”

Yamaguchi smiles and squeezes back. “That’s my job.”

Satisfied and itching for his boyfriend, Tsukishima starts to let go, but stops. Remembers something he’s been meaning to ask.

“Why… Why did you never say anything about -”

“The powers?” Yamaguchi finishes for him, like he’s been expecting it. “I don’t know, I just…” He shrugs. “That’s not what I wanted to be known for. Or liked for. Being ‘strong’, or whatever. I wanted to know that people were my friend because they liked me as a person, not because they valued me as a powerful demigod, I guess.”

“You’re -” Tsukishima chokes. “I think you’re the best person I’ve ever known, Yamaguchi.”

“Thanks, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi beams, and it’s like a little piece of sunshine piercing through the night. “I’d be okay with second best, though, you know? And speaking of… Do you think you’re ready now? To talk to Kuroo?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I think I am. Thank you.” He’s suddenly overcome with fondness and affection for his friend. “I don’t think I tell you enough, but -”

Yamaguchi wraps his arms around him in a surprisingly strong grip and hauls him in for a hug. The angle Tsukishima has to bend at hurts his back, but he settles into it. Content, for a moment.

“I know, Tsukki.” Yamaguchi’s voice is thick with emotion. “You, too.”  
  
  


~*~

Kuroo is sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands when Tsukishima slips back into the room. His head snaps up when he hears the door click shut, eyes red and hair a disaster. When he sees Tsukishima, the tension bleeds from his body.

“Kei, I’m so -”

Tsukishima shakes his head and quickly crosses the room, standing in the instinctive spot Kuroo makes for him between his legs. He cups Kuroo’s cheeks and cuts him off with a hard, fast kiss, full of apology. “I’m sorry, Tetsurou. I did lie to you. And while it was absolutely bat-shit insane of you to accuse me of being in love with Miya Atsumu, I guess I can’t really blame you for jumping to conclusions. I think I probably would have done the same thing.”

Kuroo exhales, relieved like he’s just had a ton of weight lifted from his shoulders. He wraps his arms around Tsukishima’s waist and pulls him into his lap, burying his face in his chest. “No, no that was so wrong of me, Tsukki, I have no idea what I was thinking. I know you love me, and I do trust you. I think I just - I got scared.”

“Yeah…” Tsukishima swallows hard, one hand tangling in Kuroo’s hair. “Me, too.”

“I won’t push you anymore tonight.” Kuroo tips his head back to look up at Tsukishima through his dark lashes, and Tsukishima’s heart aches with how gorgeous he is, on top of everything else. “We can table this conversation for tomorrow, or whenever you’re ready.”

“No,” Tsukishima says quickly before he can lose his nerve. Kuroo’s eyebrows draw together in concern, so he clarifies. “I mean, no, we don’t have to table it. I’m ready now.”

As a child, Tsukishima was never afraid of ghosts.

He was a logical child, much more afraid of serial killers and diseases on public transportation and plane crashes. Plus, his father spent so much time teaching him about the past, Tsukishima wasn’t scared of it coming back to haunt him.

Funny how now, on the cusp of adulthood, ghosts are perhaps his biggest fear of all. And he has a lot of other things to be scared of these days.

But when Kuroo arranges them on the bed so they can sit with Tsukishima between Kuroo’s legs, his back to Kuroo’s chest, there’s a dark, acidic fear burning his lungs. He feels like he can’t breathe until Kuroo wraps his arms around him and rests his chin on his shoulder, errant dark hairs tickling Tsukishima’s cheek.

And he’s still afraid, but he’s much stronger like this.

Because Tsukishima has ghosts, but Kuroo is so much more real to him than they ever were.

“The reason Atsumu was here that day is because he caught me lying to someone. Lying - to you.” Tsukishima waits, expecting Kuroo’s anger, but gets nothing more than a hum encouraging him to go on. “When we passed by the island of the Sirens, they - they didn’t show me you. They showed me… My parents.”

“Shit, Kei…” Kuroo breathes.

Instinctively, Tsukishima wants to laugh it off. To say it didn’t really matter, that the Sirens must have just been messing with him. That he didn’t care about his parents, or if they wanted him. That he didn’t want them either.

_I think in order to be really happy and move past this, you need to let yourself be sad about it._

“I - I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you would worry, or try to fix it, and I didn’t want - I just wanted to forget about it. We already have so much that we’re dealing with right now, and I would just be burdening you with one more thing.”

“Kei,” Kuroo squeezes him tighter. “Nothing that matters to you is a burden to me, okay? Hey, don’t forget that you spent, like, the majority of our _lives_ helping me deal with all my family bullshit, right? If this is something that’s bothering you, I want to help you get through it, too. Alright?”

“Yeah.” Tsukishima’s chest feels too tight and too hollow all at once. He feels like he’s on the precipice of something… Something rising up in him, fighting to get out… “I - I -”

“Take your time,” Kuroo whispers. “I’m here.” And then he kisses the side of Tsukishima’s neck so tenderly and lovingly that he just - 

Like fine china that had built up a million tiny cracks over the years and was just waiting for the tiniest push to break, Tsukishima shattered completely.

“I don’t understand what I did wrong,” Tsukishima manages to get out before the first sob wracks through his body. Kuroo makes a sound like Tsukishima just wrenched a knife into his gut and gathers Tsukishima closer, holds on like he can keep him from falling to pieces through sheer force alone. “I - I don’t - Why didn’t they want me?” Tsukishima sobs. “Why didn’t they - My dad and I used to go _everywhere_ together. He - He took me on all his trips. He was - was my best friend. And I - I was a good son. I was a _good son.”_

Tsukishima’s voice cracks on the last two words and he begins to cry so hard he can’t speak again for a while. Kuroo just rocks him gently through it, murmuring things like, _‘I know you were, sweetheart, I know, I bet you were the best son in the world, so cute and smart and polite, you’re the best, darling, Kei, I love you._

“When my dad - When he left me at camp, I was so confused and scared and a-angry.” Tsukishima sniffles. “I thought I was being punished for something. But then, Athena claimed me and it was like - like someone wanted me again. Like I belonged to someone, like I was - was good enough again. It didn’t even matter that I never got to meet her or talk to her, just knowing that I had at least one parent who…” Tsukishima trailed off miserably. “Who acknowledged me as their son and wasn’t ashamed of me… It made it easier to move on from what my dad did.”

The bed dipped and shifted as Kuroo twisted to be able to see Tsukishima’s face better, to wipe some of the tear tracks from his cheeks. Tsukishima was surprised to find Kuroo’s own eyes shiny with tears. He gives Tsukishima a watery smile.

“I really want to go back in time and give little six year old Tsukki a hug. Is that weird?”

“Yes.” Tsukishima manages a quirk of a smile in return. “Six year old Tsukki would kick you in the balls for being a creep if you laid a finger on him.”

“He sounds adorable.” Kuroo smacks a kiss on Tsukishima’s cheek. “Not cuter than you, though.”

Tsukishima sighs and settles back against Kuroo’s broad chest, the cage of his arms keeping the worst of the ghosts at bay.

“And then… And then we went on that quest last year, and Apollo gave me that message from my mom. The first time she ever acknowledged me since I had been claimed, and it felt like… Like she was _un_ -claiming me. And just like that, I was back to no parents wanting me. To being - being nobody’s son. I guess it just…stirred up some old bad feelings.”

“I should have known,” Kuroo says quietly. “I should have talked to you about it after the quest, but when we got back to camp everything was just so crazy, and you seemed totally fine, but I should have -”

“Don’t,” Tsukishima says sharply, turning and taking Kuroo’s face in his hands. “Don’t turn this around on yourself, okay?”

Kuroo shakes his head sadly and tilts his head to kiss the palm of Tsukishima’s hand. “It’s so hard not to, baby. You were right in front of me, hurting the whole time -”

“I wasn’t, though. I wasn’t because - because the people who mattered wanted me. _You_ wanted me, and my siblings, and all my friends. I was happy - I _am_ happy, because I love so many people who love me, too. But I guess I just… I never stopped hoping my parent’s would change their minds and want me, too.”

“And now?” Kuroo cocks his head to the side, no judgement, only curiosity. “Is that still what you hope for?”

“I don’t know,” Tsukishima says honestly. He’s had a lot of time to think about it, and frustratingly enough, he’s still never been able to find an answer. “I think a small part of me will always want that, but at the end of the day, it’s not really worth all that much to me. I don’t need them, and I wouldn’t change anything that happened to me, because it all led me right here. And maybe the world is going to end, and maybe the God of Death himself is going to drag my soul to the depths of the Underworld, and maybe I’m nobody’s son - but I have you. And as long as I have that, I’m happy.”

Kuroo blinks at him a few times before fat, messy tears begin streaming down his face.

“Tetsurou, are you -?”

Kuroo throws his arms around Tsukishima’s neck and crushes them together with all of his strength. It’s a little hard to breathe like this, but also easier than it has been in a very long time.

“I love you, Kei,” he sniffles into Tsukishima’s neck. “I swear on all the Gods, I’ll do everything I can to make you happy for the rest of our lives. Which! Is going to be a very long time! Because I’m going to wipe the Underworld with Thanatos’ greasy ass! And you and me are gonna have the best, most happiest lives that anyone has ever had.”

“You’re an idiot,” Tsukishima laughs. Kuroo sighs happily.

“I know,” he agrees easily. He pulls back to meet Tsukishima’s eyes, grinning softly. “Do you know how I know all that?”

“How?”

“Don’t you think it was odd that the Sirens showed everyone else something they wanted, and were missing, but they showed me something I already had, right by my side?”

Tsukishima blinks. No, he honestly hadn’t even considered it at all. He was so busy trying to keep what he saw a secret, and it seemed so ordinary that Kuroo would see him, he hadn’t spent any time on it, really. Kuroo’s grin grows wider at his lack of answer.

“It’s because the only thing they could possibly find in my heart’s desires was you.”

Oh. Tsukishima’s insides do a little flip, and he buries himself in Kuroo’s arms to hide the surely dumbstruck look on his face. Kuroo runs a hand through his hair, twisting his fingers around the longer curls at the nape of his neck, and Tsukishima can hear the smile in his voice when he continues.

“When I think back on that time in my life before I made it to camp… I was alone, and then I had you. That’s all I know. So as long as the two of us stick together, it’s pretty much inevitable that we’re going to have the best lives ever.”

Tsukishima grins, tapping a finger thoughtlessly against Kuroo’s sternum. “The logic does check out.”

“Doesn’t it? I have a whole binder full of data and charts in case you want to double check.”

“No, I trust you.” Tsukishima closes his eyes and listens to Kuroo’s heartbeat. “I do trust you, Tetsurou. More than anyone.”

“You too, Kei. I’m sorry I ever doubted you.”

“I’m sorry for lying.”

“Can we stop apologizing and start kissing now?”

“And people say I’m the genius.”

Kuroo laughs and Tsukishima shifts to his knees, draping his arms over Kuroo’s shoulder and crossing his wrists behind his head. Kuroo’s hands come up to his hips, warm, calloused thumbs slipping just beneath the hem of his shirt to brush his skin. Tsukishima shivers and closes the distance between them, capturing Kuroo’s plump bottom lip between his.

The kiss is a little salty from the remnants of their tears, but Tsukishima kind of likes it. The reminder that even sadness with Kuroo is good. Everything with Kuroo is good.

Especially the hands slowly coming around the grab him by the ass, pulling him in closer until their hips are pressed flush together and -

“Ack! My virgin eyes!”

“Oh, for the love of -” Tsukishima huffs and rolls off of Kuroo’s lap. “Don’t you know how to knock?”

“I did!” Atsumu protests, one hand clamped firmly over his eyes while the other feels the air in front of him as he staggers around the room. “I knocked and nobody answered so I figured you were just ignoring me because you were mad!” He slowly parts his fingers and peeks through them, expression growing sheepish. “You are still mad, aren’t you?”

Tsukishima crosses his arms stubbornly, mostly on principle. Kuroo just shrugs.

“Well, you’re not sleeping with my boyfriend, so I feel a lot better than before.”

“Not -” Atsumu’s jaw drops, looking quickly between Kuroo and Tsukishima. “You thought I was - Dude! What!”

“I know, I’m sorry, dude!”

“I can’t believe you think I would do that to you! Even if my heart didn’t already belong to Omi, that would totally violate the Bro Code!”

“Bro Code,” Kuroo repeats solemnly. They bump fists. Tsukishima rolls his eyes up to the ceiling and considers flinging himself off the side of the ship to plummet to his death.

“Ah, while I did want to clear things up with you, that’s not really why I came here.” Atsumu shuffles awkwardly and Kuroo nods in understanding.

“Do you want me leave you two alone?” Kuroo asks Tsukishima, and just the fact that he’d be willing to do that after everything that happened makes Tsukishima’s heart swell.

“Stay.”

Kuroo nods and squeezes Tsukishima’s hand beneath the sheets. Atsumu shifts his weight between his feet, looking so uncertain and nervous, that the last remaining embers of Tsukishima’s anger go cold.

“I’m not sorry that I stole the sword,” Atsumu starts, chin raised defiantly. “I saved Omi’s life, and I could never be sorry about that. But… But I am sorry I hurt you, Kei. I regret that more than anything else, maybe in my entire life. And I let Osamu cut my hair once and ended up with a mohawk for an entire summer.” Tsukishima remembers. He still has the photo evidence, actually. “I should have just talked to you before making a decision that screwed us all over. I know you’re not a bad guy, Kei. I know you would have listened, but… I don’t know, it just felt like it was me versus everyone else for a while there.”

“I would have listened,” Tsukishima agrees quietly. “I would have done anything if it meant keeping you all safer.”

Atsumu grins crookedly. “Ah, there you go, making me feel all soft and gooey for you again, kid. You’re a good leader, and a good person, Kei. And you trusted me, and you let me in, and I was - I was really happy, honestly. And then I went and ruined it all, so. There ya have it.” He shrugs, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Tsukishima bites his lip and chews over his response, but it’s mostly for show. 

He already knows.

“I forgive you. And I’m sorry, too.”

Atsumu’s head snaps up. “You - wait, really?”

“Really. You were right, I would have done the same thing if I was in your position. I would have done anything to keep Kuroo safe, and it’s not fair of me to expect you to act any better than I would. I hate that you lied to me, but at the end of the day, we’re all safe and alive, and I don’t know if that would still be the case if it wasn’t for what you did. So yeah, it sucks that we don’t have an impervious God-killing weapon anymore, but we didn’t have one when we started this quest either. And we _do_ have Sakusa, and the note. We’re going to figure it out. Together.”

Much like Kuroo had done only minutes before, Atsumu’s eyes go big and watery, filling with tears. Then, he launches himself into their bed.

“Ugh, Atsumu, heavy!” Tsukishima groans when he gets an elbow in the sternum, and by the sounds of it, Kuroo isn’t faring much better.

“I th-thought you were never gonna t-talk to me again! You guys d-don’t hate me! I’m so happy!”

“Gross,” Tsukishima grumbles, feeling Atsumu’s tears soak his shoulder. He awkwardly pats the older boy on the back and meets Kuroo’s eyes over his blonde head. Kuroo rolls his eyes fondly then sticks a finger in his mouth before jamming it in Atsumu’s ear.

Atsumu shrieks and scrambles off of them and out of their bed. He scowls, though clearly fighting a smile, and rubs his eyes with the back of his arm.

“Cheap trick, Corpse Breath.”

“Learned it from you.” Kuroo grins with all of his teeth. Atsumu laughs, scowl breaking easily.

“You know you basically told Sakusa that you were in love with him today, right?” Tsukishima points out. Atsumu winces, entire face going bright red.

“Yeah, I, uh, have one more stop to make after this.” He nods his head in the direction of Sakusa’s room.

“You better get going before he falls asleep.”

“Yeah.” Atsumu squares his shoulders like he’s preparing for battle. “I should. I’m gonna go do that now.”

“You do that.” Tsukishima waves him off, already curling back into Kuroo.

“I’m gonna.”

“Good luck.” Kuroo tilts Tsukishima’s chin towards him, ignoring Atsumu’s presence.

“Don’t need it.”

“Of course not.”

“Here I go.”

“Atsumu!” Tsukishima groans when he notices the other boy hasn’t moved an inch. “Get out of here!”

“I am!” Atsumu snaps. He takes one step, then turns back around. “So, um, just hypothetically speaking, what if he -”

“He won’t,” Tsukishima cuts him off firmly. “Just… Be yourself, okay? Tell him how you _really_ feel. You’ll be fine.”

Atsumu sucks in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. He gives them a final nod and flashes a thumbs up before finally leaving.

“You know?” Kuroo murmurs, rolling Tsukishima on top of him and already starting to press kisses across his face. “About Sakusa?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. I sort of heard you guys talking about it that one day.”

“Sneaky,” Kuroo chuckles. “You think it’ll work out?”

Tsukishima sighs. “Atsumu has a terrible way of getting underneath people’s skin. I don’t think Sakusa ever stood a chance.”

Kuroo laughs and squeezes Tsukishima’s waist, kissing him on the curve of his jaw. “Good for them. Now, enough about Atsumu and Sakusa. Let’s get back to where we were before.”

“Crying about our childhood trauma?”

Kuroo huffs fondly. “After that.”

Tsukishima hums, pretending to think. Then, quickly swings one leg over Kuroo’s body, straddling him and leaning down so that his hair brushes Kuroo’s forehead.

“Something like this, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Kuroo agrees breathlessly. “Something just like this.”

_Just like this,_ Tsukishima can’t help but agree, sealing their lips together and drowning in nothing but the feeling of Kuroo against him and all around him and here, always, with him.  
  
  


~*~

“I’m going to kill him,” Tsukishima seethes, grabbing the fork right out of Atsumu’s hand and stabbing it through the middle of the parchment.

“Why? What does it say?” Yamaguchi peers over Tsukishima’s shoulder at the note unfolded on the table in front of him.

“I don’t _know._ Zephyros played us.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Goshiki pops up over Tsukishima’s other shoulder.

“I mean, this note is written in _Ancient Gaelic._ I don’t even think they make Ancient Gaelic dictionaries! You would have to study old texts for years and be some sort of… Of…” Tsukishima trails off, a sudden realization dawning on him.

“Some sort of what?” Kuroo prompts.

Tsukishima carefully un-wedges Atsumu’s fork from the note and hands it back to him, smoothing out the wrinkles thoughtfully. “Some sort of linguists expert.”

Sakusa quirks an eyebrow, a ghost of a knowing smile on his lips. “We know someone like that.”

“Lev!” Tsukishima barks, and the son of Hermes snaps to attention. “Set a course for New Rome.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh i hope u guys liked it~! i cant believe theres only one chapter left after this one :(
> 
> let me know what u thought in the comments and come be my friend on [twitter!](https://twitter.com/oiiblondie)

**Author's Note:**

> ahhhh here we r at the end of the first season!! one god down, three to go 👀
> 
> i hope u guys enjoyed and love all the new characters, and stay tuned for a lot more sakuatsu storyline in the coming chapters!!
> 
> pls comment and let me know what u thought and come be my friend on [twitter!](https://twitter.com/oiiblondie)
> 
> see ya soon ;)


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